ABUJA: During the first week of April, terrorists in the middle belt state of Benue and Islamic extremists in northeastern Nigeria killed a pastor and 134 Christians, sources said.
According to EYN leader Salamatu Billi, terrorists from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed the Rev. Yakubu Shuaibu of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN) in Borno state on April 4 after breaking into his home in Madlau, Biu County. Billi said they also shot and injured his pregnant wife, who was receiving medical attention at the Biu General Hospital in Biu town. Another child survives the pastor as well.
As per Billi, Pastor Shuaibu's body was laid to rest in his village of Dzangwala, Gombi County, Adamawa state. Four years ago, the pair started their work with the EYN church in the area.
Please let us all pray for his wife’s recovery, for the Almighty God to comfort his whole family, and for the church of God and ministers of the church working in the danger zones of Borno and Adamawa states,” Billi said."Terrorists in northeast Nigeria are still looking for Christians, particularly preachers working in churches. This is the third EYN pastor that these terrorists have brutally murdered in a short period of time.
At the same time the pastor was killed, ISWAP also attacked the primarily Christian Njimtilo, Pulka, and Ajiri Mafa villages, according to local resident Josephine Joseph.
Terrorists burned Christian homes during the bombings and stole food from them, according to Joseph. According to a press release from Benue Governor Samuel Ortom, 134 Christians were murdered by Fulani herdsmen in the middle belt state of Benue between April 2 and April 10.
He said, "134 Christians have been killed by herdsmen in the past week." In addition, 18 of the state's 23 local government areas have been destroyed by herdsmen assaults, forcing the majority of the Christian population to flee these council regions.
The herdsmen attacked the local government locations of Makurdi, Guma, Otukpo, Apa and Logo, area residents told Morning Star News in text messages. They also reportedly attacked Kwande County, said area resident Dominic Anza, president of the Universal Reformed Christian Church (NKST). In recent months, the attacks by armed Fulani herdsmen on our Christian villages have intensified to the point that rarely a day goes by without one being attacked, according to Pastor Anza. These Fulani herdsmen also assaulted my hamlet of Turan in the Kwande Local Government Area, killing several Christians there.
Most of the affected Christians in the areas belong to the NKST, the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, and Pentecostal groups; they are no longer able to hold worship services, he said.
The home of my family was destroyed by the herdsmen, and all of my relatives have been forced to relocate, said Pastor Anza. "These herdsmen have completely taken over the affected communities," the man said, "so that I can't even try to visit my village."
Women and children made up the majority of the killed Christians, and thousands of those who were displaced are now living in camps, he claimed. Since these camps have also been attacked and numerous Christians have been slaughtered during this time, they aren't even safe there, according to Pastor Anza.
According to community leader Dennis Shemberga, herdsmen assaulted a facility housing displaced Christians in Ngban village, Guma County, on April 7 at around 10 p.m., murdering 38 Christians and injuring 36 others. The attack on the camp for displaced Christians in the Ngban hamlet was confirmed by Catherine Anene, a spokesman for the Benue State Command.
On April 5, 52 Christians were killed when armed herders stormed the largely Christian Umogidi village in Otukpo County, a council official told Morning Star News.
According to Bako Eje, the chairman of the Otukpo Local Government Council, "The Fulani herdsmen have been terrorising Christians in this area for years; they burn Christian farms at random, and any Christian who sought to protest their activities was slaughtered. 47 Christians were killed in herdsmen attacks on villages in Apa County on April 3, locals said
"Christian villages like Ikpobi, Odugbo, Akpanta, Ologba and Oyiji have adversely been affected, as many Christians have been killed and many more have been displaced," said John Antenyi, a prominent member of the local community. "This has been going on for years, but it really started to show this April."
According to community leader Hemen Terkimbi, on April 2, Fulani herders assaulted a church service in Akenawe village, Logo County, killed a Christian, and kidnapped four other people.
Herdsmen attacked Christians who were attending a night vigil service in a church, according to Terkimbi. Four Christians, including the local pastor, the Rev. Gwadue Kwaghtyo, were arrested and taken to an unidentified location, while one Christian was slain, five Christians were hurt.
Another community leader, Eche Akpoko, said that in four months, herdsmen killed more than 89 Christians in 31 area villages, including Ope-Ikobi, Ochi-Ikobi, Ijaha-Ikobi, Imana-Ikobi, Oleoke-Ikobi, Ebugodo-Edikwu, Ankpali- Edikwu, Olegijamu-Edikwu, Olekele-Edikwu, Ukpogo-Edikwu, Edikwu-Icho, Edikwu-Oladoga, Okwiji-Edikwu and Ojecho- Edikwu.
According to the 2023 World Watch List (WWL) report from Open Doors, Nigeria had the highest number of Christians murdered worldwide in 2022 (5,014). It also had the most houses and businesses targeted for religious reasons, with 4,726 Christians being kidnapped, sexually harassed or raped, forced into marriage, or physically or mentally mistreated. Nigeria had the second-highest number of church attacks and internally displaced persons, similar to the previous year.
Nigeria rose from No. 7 the previous year to No. 6 on the 2023 World Watch List of the nations where it is hardest to be a Christian, which is its highest placement ever. "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 study stated. "This year has also seen the violence spread to the southern region of the country, which is dominated by Christians... As long as Nigeria's government continues to deny that this is religious persecution, Christians' rights are violated without consequence.
The majority-Muslim Fulani, who number in the millions and live in Nigeria and the Sahel, are divided into hundreds of clans with a wide range of ancestries. While most Fulani do not hold extremist views, some do, according to a recent report by the UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG).
The APPG study claims that they "adopt a similar strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity."
As desertification has made it difficult for them to maintain their herds, Christian leaders in Nigeria have claimed that they think the herdsmen's attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria's Middle Belt are motivated by their desire to annex Christians' lands and impose Islam.