160 People Massacred in Christian Areas of Plateau State, Nigeria
Coordinated attacks were launched across three areas over Christmas.
Church pastors were killed, and hundreds of houses were destroyed in the massacres in the villages of Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, and Mangu counties, officials and residents said. The assailants killed the Rev. Solomon Gushe of Baptist Church in Dares village along with nine of his family members, said Bokkos County resident Dawzino Mallau.
Most of the Christians killed were women, children, and the elderly, unable to escape, he said.
Alfred Mashat, another resident of the Bokkos area, said hundreds of houses were destroyed.
Among the predominantly Christian villages attacked, he said, were NTV, Maiyanga, Ruku, Hurum, Darwat, Dares, Chirang, Ruwi, Yelwa, Ndun, Ngyong, Murfet, Makundary, Tamiso, Chiang, Tahore, Gawarba, Dares, Meyenga, Darwat, and Butura Kampani.
Mashat identified some of the Christians killed in the attack on Maiyanga village as Sati Solomon Langweng, David Jallang, Gauis Adamu, Mafulul Langweng, Nafor James Market, Matawal Gauis Adamu, Fidelis Solomon Jallang, Emmanuel Amos Jallang, Sule Shahu, Mildred James Market, Maren Paul Mashok, Samuel Mamot, and Machief Mangut.
Four Christians were slain in Daruwat village; he could only identify them as Tanko, Haruna, John, and Salo.
Local officials on Monday (Dec. 25) confirmed the attacks, reportedly stating that at least 160 people were slain. On Monday, Kassah, head of the local government in Bokkos, told AFP that 113 people had been killed there in “well-coordinated” attacks in at least 20 villages.
“Another 26 corpses were buried in the Barkin Ladi Council area on Christmas Day,” Musa said. “On Saturday, Dec. 23, Muslim terrorists attacked Christian villages in the Bokkos Local Government Area, attacks that continued to Christmas Day.”
In Bokkos LGA’s Ruwi village, 16 Christians were killed, many others were wounded, and many houses were destroyed, he said.
Alfred Alabo, the spokesman for the Plateau State Police Command, said in a press statement that the assailants on Sunday night (Dec. 24) attacked 12 villages in the Bokkos LGA: Ndun, Ngyong, Murfet, Makundary, Tamiso, Chiang, Tahore, Gawarba, Dares, Meyenga, Darwat, and Butura Kampani. That same hour, at about 10:45 p.m., three villages in Barkin Ladi LGA were attacked. He said: NTV, Hurum, and Darawat.
In Bokkos LGA, 221 houses were set ablaze, 27 motorcycles and eight other motor vehicles were burned, and more than 79 people were killed. Alabo said, adding that in Barkin Ladi LGA, 17 deaths were initially recorded.
Plateau Gov. Caleb Mutfwang said on Monday (Dec. 25) that at least 50 people had been killed in Mangu and Bokkos counties in the prior 48 hours.
“This is unacceptable. Enough is enough. These stupid and unprovoked acts must stop,” Mutfwang said, vowing to “strengthen security agencies’ efforts to tackle insecurity in the state.”
Such assailants have been active in northern Nigeria for more than a decade but have significantly expanded into Plateau, Benue, and other states, including some in southern Nigeria. Christian leaders and other observers also believe elements of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram and a faction aligned with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) form part of some of the attacking criminal gangs.
Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herders’ attacks on Christian communities in the 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.
In the 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most challenging to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to sixth place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 7 the previous year.
Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many lineages who do not hold extremist views. Still, some Fulani adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report.
