Together, bandits and Fulani people sell land that rightfully belongs to farmers through deceitful means.
At least 50 Christians lost their lives as a result of an attack on a village in central Nigeria on Thursday, August 8, by Fulani herders and a criminal gang, according to sources.
Two residents allege that over 50 Christians were killed in the assault on the Christian village in Ukum County, Benue State. Officials who have discovered 30 bodies suspect that the death toll could be even higher.
Reports suggest that the relocation of villagers to remote areas is associated with speculation regarding their potential execution.
“Suspected herdsmen militias killed over 50 Christians in Ayati village,” area resident Tivta Samuel told Christian Daily International-“orning Star News in a text message. “The incident occurred at about 5 p.m.”
Another resident, Abraham Waroh, also identified the assailants as “Fulani herdsmen militias.”
“The attack stemmed from criminal elements claiming to sell the village farmers’ land to herdsmen, showing the herders the land and taking money for it, according to Shima Ayati, an area leader and former farmer for governor.”
Ayati reportedly said that the village farmers complained to government officials when the herders began grazing their cattle on the land.
“And the government dispatched the state security outfit, who came and chased the herdsmen away and burned their tents, which got them angry,” Ayati said, according to news outlet Vanguard.
“They claimed that the bandits sold the land to them, and they went and met the bandits. So the herdsmen and bandits went to the village” and carried out a massacre.”
Ayati said that after burning the tents and dispersing the herders, security personnel left instead of remaining to guard the villagers.”.
Residents said herders also attacked other predominantly Christian villages in the Ukum area in the past three months. Area resident Clement Kolough noted that on July 21, “Fulani bandits” shot and killed three Christians in the Sankara area.
“The Fulani bandits numbering nine rode on motorcycles, armed with guns and mace, and attacked the people in the Sankara community, “killing two adults and a boy who was six years old,” Kolough told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
On July 3, Fulanis attacked Ayati and Borikyo villages, killing 11 Christians, residents said.
Catherine Anene, spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, confirmed Thursday’s attack but said she was waiting for more information.
Regarding the other attacks you mentioned, I can only say that on Thursday, there were multiple reports of bandit activity in the three local government areas of Ukum, Logo, and Kastina-Ala.
Anene informed Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that security personnel effectively eliminated bandits during operations. Officers and personnel from various agencies were dispatched to the impacted areas.
Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023, according to Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, with 3,3Doors’geria was also the third highest country in the number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings, such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with 750, according to the report.
In the 2024 WWL of the countries where it is most challenging to be a Christian, Nigeria was ranked No. 6, as in the previous year.
Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views. However, some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report.
“They adopt a comparable straKingdom’soko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of their identity,” the APPG report states.
Since desertification has made it harder for herders to maintain their herds, Christian leaders in Nigeria have” stated that they believe the reason behind herders’ attacks on Christian communities in the Middle Belt of Nigeria is their intention to impose Islam and seize Christian lands.
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