As Rwanda marked 31st commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, on Monday, April 7, the Rwandan community in Nigeria in Abuja joined their compatriots to honour more than one million lives lost in the tragedy.

The commemoration event held at the Rwanda High Commission in Abuja also attended by members of diplomatic corps, players of APR Women Volleyball Club, journalists and friends of Rwanda from other embassies.

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Rwanda’s envoy to Nigeria Christophe Bazivamo reminded the mourners how, in April 1994, innocent people, men, women, children, and the elderly were slaughtered by their neighbours using machetes, clubs, and hoes.

Bazivamo highlighted the importance of remembering the Genocide against the Tutsi, and called upon the Rwandan community to strive for a self-reliant and dignified country.

"We ask for your solidarity in preserving the true account of Rwanda’s history so that the world can match the words ‘never again’ with tangible action to prevent history from repeating itself,” Bazivamo said.

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The Kwibuka event in Abuja started with a candle light procession in remembrance of victims of the Genocide.

The policies of divide and rule used by Belgian colonialists, followed by bad governance and ethnic discrimination that characterized Rwanda since the late 1950s, culminated in the Genocide against the Tutsi.

The event was attended by the representative of the Nigerian government and other dignitaries, including UN officials, and heads of diplomatic missions.

Also present were representatives of international organizations, civil society organizations, religious leaders, academics and students.

In Rwanda, the commemoration period was opened by a national ceremony held at Kigali Genocide Memorial, where President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame laid wreath in honour of more than 250,000 Genocide victims and lit the light of hope.

More than a million people died in the carefully planned massacre that lasted 100 days in 1994. Rwandans and friends of Rwanda around the world organise commemoration activities until July 4, the Liberation Day.