Herdsmen in Central Nigeria kill Pastor and five other Christians.
Several individuals suffered gunshot injuries.
Fulani herdsmen killed a pastor and five other Christians in Nasarawa State, central Nigeria, in attacks on Friday (March 22) and Sunday (March 24), sources said.
In Keana County’s Kadarko area, community leader Denis Utsa said Fulani herdsmen attacked the predominantly Christian village of Tse-Abir Azer on Friday (March 22), shooting two Christians to death, including a pastor who died the next day.
“The armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen invaded the Tse-Abir Azer area of Kadarko at about 4 p.m., and aside from those killed, dozens of other Christians sustained gunshot wounds,” Utsa told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News in a text message. The terrorists shot and injured a pastor named Kingsley Orshase, who later passed away at a hospital in Lafia.
On Sunday (March 24), the assailants killed four Christian farmers in the Kadarko area in a second round of attacks, he said.
According to Utsa, six Christians have been killed in the recent attacks. Displaced Christians in the camp were forced to flee to Kadarko and Giza towns due to the terrorists’ invasion. “The terrorists also invaded a camp housing displaced Christians, forcing them to flee to Kadarko and Giza towns in the Keana Local Government Area. Some of these displaced Christians sustained life-threatening injuries, and they’re being treated in some hospitals.”
Ramhan Nansel, spokesperson for Nasarawa State Police Command, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that officers have been deployed to the area to curtail attacks.
Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023, according to Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, at 3,300.
According to the report, Nigeria ranked third in the number of attacks on churches and Christian buildings, with 750 incidents.
In the 2024 WWL of the countries where it is most challenging to be a Christian, Nigeria was ranked No. 6, as in the previous year.
According to Utsa, six Christians have been killed in the recent attacks. Displaced Christians in the camp were forced to flee to Kadarko and Giza towns due to the terrorists’ invasion. “The terrorists also invaded a camp housing displaced Christians, forcing them to flee to Kadarko and Giza towns in the Keana Local Government Area. Some of these displaced Christians sustained life-threatening injuries, and they’re being treated in some hospitals.”
“They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.
Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen’s attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam, as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.
