SW News: Director of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI) of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Johan Viljoen recently presented data indicating an increase in assaults in Nigeria following the February 25 and March 18 presidential and gubernatorial elections. The DHPI has urged the West African nation’s newly elected government to take immediate action to stop a "new tide of devastation”.

Viljoen also said that the federal government should make an intensive effort to counteract violent actions and that the recent outbreak of violence necessitates quick action from state governments and the soon-to-be-constituted federal administration headed by President-Elect Bola Tinubu.

The DHPI Director is saddened by the fact that the people of God in Nigeria must deal with so many "flashpoints of conflict," such as bad ethnicity, politics, religion, language, and location, said Viljoen.

There has been an upswing in violence after the elections, notably in the states of Kaduna and Benue, where Islamists massacred around 30 Christians two weeks ago. On March 10, 17 Christians were killed in Ungwan Wake village, followed by 10 Christians four days later in Langson village.

He said that until Tinubu is sworn in as president, lawless groups like vigilantes, herders, and bandits will continue to attack innocent people because they will see no one to stop them.

DHPI asserted that an increase in attacks throughout Nigeria's states may be traced back to a lack of leadership in Africa's most populous nation after recent federal and state elections.