According to our information, 70 Christians were murdered by Nigerian terrorists over the course of two days.
ABUJA, Nigeria — The Associated Press reports thatLast week, Fulani herdsmen killed more than 70 Christians in a village in central Nigeria. The sources said that this led state officials to say that citizens must protect themselves because the government is not protecting them.
A police officer in Benue state thought that the herdsmen’s attack on Gbeji village in Ukum County the next day was a payback for the deaths of five Fulani herders in three separate incidents in the area last Tuesday.
Terumbur Kartyo, the head of the Ukum Local Government Council in Benue, said, “In just two days, Fulani militiamen killed more than 70 Christians in the Gbeji community in our local government area.” Gbeji is in the local government area of Ukum.
Kartyo also said that in Guma Local Government Area, herders shot and hurt more than 100 Christians in the villages of Udei and Yelewata last week, forcing thousands to leave their homes.
Bede Bartholomew, who lives in the Ukum area, sent a text message to Morning Star News saying that at least 56 Christians were killed in Gbeji town last week.
So far, the bodies of about 36 of the victims have been found and taken to a morgue, he said.
Terrence Kuanum, who also lives in the area, said that Gbeji and the villages of Vaase, Daudu, Tyotyev, Udei, and Yelwata were attacked.
He said that Fulani herdsmen were causing trouble in many parts of the state.
Officials from the state of Benue who went to the area last week after the attacks said that the failure of the federal government to stop the violence is a good reason to give powerful weapons to citizen defense groups.
“We are still asking the federal government to let our volunteer guards carry AK-47s and other high-tech weapons,” said Secretary to the State Government Anthony Ijohor, who was speaking on behalf of Benue Governor Samuel Ortom. “The security agencies are stretched too thin, so our people have to protect themselves.”
A Christian named Philip Tavershima Tyohenna, a Christian who was working on his farm when he was attacked, was killed by herders on Tuesday in Daudu, Guma Local Government Area, a local named John Terver said.
People in Yelwata say that on October 12, herders killed five Christians there.
At about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 12, Fulani herders attacked our town of Yelwata. James Orduen said that most of the people who died were Christians who were working on their farms. Five dead bodies were found on farms by people in our community. Six more Christians were hurt when they were shot.
A member of the Guma Local Government Council, Waku Christopher, said that the five Christians had been killed.
“It is true that Fulanis attacked our community in Yelewata and killed five of our people,” Christopher said, adding that four of the injured people were getting care in a hospital.
Christian girls who are held captive
A rights activist said that 11 high school students, including five Christian girls, are still being held by Islamic extremist militants in the northwest of Nigeria. The students were taken by the militants in June 2021.
On June 17, 2021, 70 girls from the Federal Government Girls College in Birnin Yauri, Kebbi state, were taken by terrorists from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Most of the 59 students who were released after talks with the Nigerian government were Muslims. No one knows why the other 11 are still being held.
“These girls have been held captive by their captors for a year and a half. Rights activist Hauwa Mustapha Babura said in a statement, “They have been abused, tortured, and raped.” “What did they do to deserve this terrible thing to happen to them?”
Babura, who is a Muslim, said this on Oct. 11, which is the International Day of the Girl Child. She said that Elizabeth Ogechi Nwafor, Esther Sunday, Rebecca James, Neempere Daniel, and Bilha Musa were the Christian girls.
Danjuma Haruna, the head of the Parents/Teachers Association of Nigeria, asked the Nigerian government to free the high school girls who had been taken.
Haruna said in a statement that the Nigerian government should do everything it can right away to save our children who have been taken by terrorists.
Yahaya Sarki, a spokesman for the state of Kebbi, said that efforts were still being made to get the remaining students released.
Last year (Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021), 4,650 Christians were killed because of their faith in Nigeria. This was up from 3,530 the year before, according to Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List report. According to the WWL report, the majority of Christians were taken hostage in Nigeria. More than 2,500 Christians were taken, up from 990 the year before.
The report said that 470 churches were attacked in Nigeria, which was second only to China.
Nigeria jumped from No. 9 to No. 7 on the 2022 World Watch List of the countries where it is hardest to be a Christian. This was the country’s best ranking ever.
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