Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 September (HL Deb, cols 1589–1592), what assessment they have made of the key factors that have led to atrocities in Nigeria; what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) climate change, and (2) land scarcity, as the main cause rather than extremist ideology; if so, on what evidence they base that assessment; what steps they are taking to investigate the motives of the perpetrators of violence in that country and to bring them to justice; and what plans they have (a) to support a proposal for a UN monitoring mechanism for Nigeria, and (b) to assist Nigeria in its response to such atrocities.

The UK Government assesses that the drivers of violent attacks in Nigeria vary throughout the country. Competition over resources, including land, worsened by climate change, is a root cause of the intercommunal violence that occurs across many states in Nigeria. We do not assess that extremist ideology is a root cause of most intercommunal violence. In North East Nigeria, we assess that the extremist ideology of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa drives violence, although the motivation for individuals joining these groups is diverse.

These assessments are informed by the team at the British High Commission in Abuja who are in contact with a diverse range of ethnoreligious communities from across the country, the Nigerian authorities and other experts including academics and NGOs. Additionally, we fund respected international and local research partners in Nigeria to monitor conflict and security dynamics across the country.

We condemn all incidents of intercommunal violence in Nigeria and are working with Nigeria to respond to the root causes of the violence. We provided technical support to the Nigerian Government for the development of the National Livestock Transformation Plan. We are also developing a new conflict, security and justice programme, which aims to reduce levels of intercommunal violence through the development of more effective conflict-management systems. We will continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to protect those at risk of intercommunal violence, bring perpetrators to justice and implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence and meet the needs of all communities.

We also condemn all terrorist attacks in North East Nigeria and continue to provide a comprehensive package of security, humanitarian and stabilisation assistance to Nigeria to help tackle the terrorist threat and support affected communities.

The UN monitor the situation in Nigeria through their Nigeria team and the early warning divisions in UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. We will continue to work closely with them.