Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Institute for Economics and Peace Global Terrorism Index 2018, published in December, and its finding that nearly 1,700 violent deaths have been attributed to Fulani extremists from January to September 2018.

As the statistics demonstrate, there has been a tragic escalation in intercommunal clashes in Nigeria this year and we have noted with increasing concern the actions of the Fulani violence against farmers. We share the assessment in the Global Terrorism Index 2018 report by the Institute for Economics and Peace that, at its core, herder-farmer violence in Nigeria revolves around the economic plight resulting from the worsening drought and land degradation in Nigeria's northern regions. Urgent action is needed by the Nigerian authorities to prevent further loss of life and we encourage the government to address the underlying causes and develop a solution that meets the needs of all affected communities.