Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current levels of violence between religious groups in Nigeria, and of an estimate by the 2017 Global Terrorism Index which states that 60,000 people have been killed in clashes between predominantly Muslim Fulani Herders and predominantly Christian farmers; and what representations have been made to the government of Nigeria about the levels of religious violence in that country.

We are concerned by recurrent clashes involving pastoralists and local farmers over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water. They have a serious impact on lives and communities of all faiths and are a major barrier to Nigeria's economic development. We discuss the issue with Federal and State Governments and encourage them to work with the affected populations on all sides of the conflict to develop a solution. We welcome President Buhari's commitment to focus on assisting the affected communities, bringing perpetrators to justice and examining longer term peaceful solutions to the conflict.