Terrorists Kill Christians and Kidnap 25 Others in Northern Nigeria
Suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked a village in northern Nigeria on Tuesday morning. Resident Emmanuel Yusuf reports that the attackers struck in the village of Ungwan Baka in southern Kaduna State’s Kachia County. In contrast, the residents were asleep with a strong desire for violence.
In a text message, Yusuf informed Morning Star News about the attack on Christian villagers on Tuesday morning. The victims who were injured are currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
Chindo mentioned that our community has been attacked for the third time. “Please pray for us.” On April 3, armed assailants invaded the area and abducted eight Christian girls from the Government Secondary School, a public high school in Awon, said area resident Jonah Ayuba. The military rescued the girls on April 18, he said.
Nigeria had the highest Christian death toll in 2022, with 5,014 fatalities, as per Open Doors’ 2023 WWL report. It also led the world in Christians being abducted (4,726), sexually assaulted or harassed, forcibly married, or physically or mentally abused, and it had the most homes and businesses attacked for faith-based reasons.
Nigeria once again had the second-highest number of church attacks and internally displaced people, just like last year. Nigeria made a significant jump on the 2023 World Watch List, reaching its highest-ever ranking at sixth place. “Militants from the Fulani, Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and others conduct raids on Christian communities, killing, maiming, raping, and kidnapping for ransom or sexual slavery,” the WWL report noted.
The violence has spread to the Christian-majority south of Nigeria this year. Religious persecution is denied by the government, resulting in unpunished violations of Christians’ rights.
The predominantly Muslim Fulani, numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, consist of various clans and lineages, with some adhering to radical Islamist ideology, as noted by the UK’s APPG in a 2020 report.
According to the APPG report, their strategy resembles that of Boko Haram and ISWAP, with a focus on attacking Christians and Christian symbols.
Nigerian Christian leaders think that herdsmen’s attacks on Christian communities in the Middle Belt are driven by a desire to seize Christian lands and enforce Islam, prompted by desertification challenges.
