Horror and terror continue in Nigeria, where 48 Christians were reportedly slain in the nation’s Benue State between Nov. 24 and Dec. 1, with women and children included among the slaughtered.
On Dec. 1, 18 Christians were allegedly murdered on their way to church, with 30 others killed Nov. 25 when hundreds of herdsmen reportedly attacked residents in Logo and Katsina-Ala counties.
The violence was reportedly perpetuated at the hands of Fulani herdsmen, according to sources who spoke with Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
Fulani herdsmen are members of a predominately Muslim group known to target Christians.
“The Fulani herdsmen, armed with deadly weapons, shot sporadically on the Christians, butchered some victims with machetes, and destroyed their crops on farmlands,” Benjamin Uzenda, a former member of the Logo Local Government Council, told the outlet.
Other politicians also spoke out, including Nigerian Sen. Emmanuel Udende, who said such attacks continue to unfold “unabated, undermining security, peace and the socio-economic stability of the affected communities.”
Leaders are calling for investigations into the killings, with a spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command telling Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that police officers are doing everything they can to “end these attacks.”
As CBN News previously reported, the situation in Nigeria remains dangerous for Christians. Muslims reportedly burned down a Christian church Aug. 10 in yet another assault on believers that underscores the serious nature of percolating persecution inside the African nation.
Associate Pastor Samson Ogbebor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News he received news the church was in flames around 3 a.m.
It’s tragically the second time the house of worship, located in the town of Kontagora in Nigeria’s Niger state, has been destroyed. It was an act the Rev. Bulus Dauda Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State Chapter, called “barbaric and unwarranted” and “painful.”
In April, the Rev. Manasseh Ibrahim was reportedly killed as he traveled to provide ministry to church members, according to sources who spoke to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
And last November, Oluwakemi Moses, the wife of a Nigerian pastor, was murdered by terrorists as she traveled home with her 2-month-old baby.
Tragically, it doesn’t end there. The Rev. Charles Onomhoale Igechi, a Catholic priest who was vice principal of St. Michael College, Ikhueniro, was slaughtered last year while driving through Benin, Edo in Nigeria. These events aren’t new, though international attention is continuing to grow.
Violence in Nigeria broke through the global news cycle in May 2022, when Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a 25-year-old Christian college student, was stoned to death by a Muslim mob.
The killing of Yakubu, a Shehu Shagari College of Education student in Sokoto, Nigeria, was purportedly filmed and shared on social media, horrifying the international community.
Persecution trackers have extensively documented the severity of the issue. Open Doors’ World Watch List 2024 placed Nigeria in the sixth spot in its rankings of nations where anti-Christian persecution and discrimination are the worst.
A line from a press release announcing the results read, “More than 82% of Christians killed across the globe for faith reasons were in Nigeria.”
And Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern (ICC) and one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on religious freedom and persecution, told CBN News last year his organization’s “2023 Persecutors of the Year” report also reveals the full scope of the problem.
“Most Americans have no idea what’s going on in Nigeria, but imagine this: for the last 20 years, probably up to about 100,000 Christians have been murdered,” King said. “Three-and-a-half million Christians, their lands have been taken from them, and the government’s pretty much done nothing.”
In addition to killings and violence, social pressures are also intense. ADF International sounded the alarm earlier this year over two Nigerian universities — one federal and one state — that have reportedly barred Christian students from “being able to use any facilities for worship [or] fellowship.”
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