Islamists continue to massacre Christians in Nigeria

Nigeria. Photo: GNC

On September 26 (Thursday), in one of the districts of Plateau State in central Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen killed a Christian. As reported earlier by various sources, this killing followed the murders of eight other Christians in a different part of the state.

According to GNC, a local resident from the village of Hura in the Miango district, Bassa LGA, reported that on September 26, armed herdsmen ambushed and attacked a Christian farmer with a machete, resulting in his death from the inflicted wounds.

Recent reports from human rights organizations indicate that “tragic events continue to unfold in the Miango district, Bassa LGA, where communities face repeated attacks from Fulani herdsmen.”

For example, on September 15 in Bokkos district, Fulani herdsmen killed six Christians in the town of Mbar and two more in the village of Kwatas Bargesh, according to local resident David Zino. Another Christian was kidnapped from the village of Rafut.

On September 13 at 11 a.m., herdsmen also raided the village of Kopyal on the outskirts of Bokkos town, but fortunately, no one was killed, reported local resident Steve Mallau.

On September 3 in the town of Daffo, armed Fulani shot and killed “around six Christians” and wounded another, according to Blessing Yakubu, a resident of the area, in a text message to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.

A lawyer and leader of the Christian community in Daffo, Pharmasum Fuddan, stated that “our communities are constantly attacked by terrorists who call themselves Fulani herdsmen.”

He reported that “despite repeated appeals to the government for intervention, the violence against Christians continues to escalate.”

According to him, the community mourns the loss of over 100 people who have been killed or wounded this year, as well as the thousands of hectares of farmland destroyed by the herdsmen.

In a 2020 report by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG), it was noted that Nigeria remains the deadliest place in the world for followers of Christ: from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023, 4,118 people were killed for their faith (according to Open Doors). Nigeria also had more abductions of Christians than any other country, with 3,300 cases.

Nigeria ranked third in terms of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings, such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with 750 incidents, according to the report.

In the 2024 ranking of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria, as in the previous year, ranked 6th.

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