At Least 10 Christians Slain in Taraba State, Nigeria 

The assailants attacked an area from the Yangtu Special Development Area near Takum to villages in Ussa County at about 6 p.m., area residents said.

The assailants attacked an area from the Yangtu Special Development Area near Takum to villages in Ussa County at about 6 p.m., area residents said.

Another resident, Yakubu Tinya, said “the terrorists” shot at anyone they saw.

“Some of the Christians were killed while they were returning from their farms, while others were killed in their houses in the affected villages,” Tinya said in a text message.

Peter Shamwun, a member of the Ussa Local Council, said Kpambo Yashe in Ussa County was attacked.

The attacks have brought untold misery and hardship to area Christians, he said.

“More worrisome is the fact that Christians are being attacked as they work on their farms,” Shamwun said. “We are at the mercy of these herdsmen, bandits, and terrorists.”

Usman Abdullahi, the spokesman for the Taraba State Police Command, said police had verified only ten deaths on Friday (Nov. 24), including nine identified as Hope Hassan, Rimamsomtse Lamadi, Holiness Enoch, Rimamtsiki Enoch, Egwu Hassan, Saleh Kyatiki, Ephraim Atenji, Manasseh Atenji, and Hassan Songure.

Residents said five predominantly Christian communities were attacked: Tukwog, Kpambo Yashe, Rubur Ribasi, Nyicwu and Ruwah. One resident, Ure Caleb, said 20 Christians were killed in attacks on Ussa County and the Yangtu Special Development Area near Takum, while another, Thomas Samuel, said 10 Christians were killed in Takum and Ussa counties.

“These Christians were killed at about 6 p.m.,” Samuel said in a text message. “Some of them were killed as they were on their way back from their farms, while others were killed in their homes.”

Emmanuel Bello, a spokesman for Taraba Gov. Agbu Kefas, said in a press statement that the governor “has received with utmost shock the horrific attacks on Yangtu by suspected gunmen that reportedly claimed many lives.”

“It is the latest in the dastardly acts of worrisome banditry in the area,” Bello said. “Dr. Kefas noted that he was doing everything humanly possible to end such carnage in the state. He added that his recent visits to all security heads at Defense headquarters in Abuja were primarily geared towards attracting federal government support in the fight against banditry in the state.”

Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith in 2022, with 5,014, according to Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List (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. As in the previous year, Nigeria had the second most church attacks and internally displaced people.

In the 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to sixth place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 7 the previous year.

“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. “This year has also seen this violence spill over into the Christian-majority south of the nation… Nigeria’s government continues to deny this is religious persecution, so violations of Christians’ rights are carried out with impunity.”

“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 their desire compelled herders’ attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt to seize Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.