Monday, June 30, 2025

Fears of another large-scale attack on Christians growing in Nigeria after Fulani kill 200


Fears of another large-scale attack on Christians growing in Nigeria after Fulani kill 200



Fears of another large-scale attack on Christians are growing in Benue state, Nigeria, where Fulani herdsmen slaughtered up to 200 people in Yelwata village on June 13-14, sources said.

Initial reports confirmed 100 people had died in the attack on predominantly Christian Yelwata, but later data collected by the Diocese of Makurdi’s Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace (FJDP) estimated a toll of up to 200, according to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Among those slain were all nine family members of Yelwata resident Lucy Tsegba.

“My beloved mom, four sisters, three nieces and grandmother were killed during the incident,” Tsegba told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “I love them, but God loves them more. I will forever miss them. I can’t stop crying.”

In a report to ACN, local clergy said earlier that evening, police had repelled the attackers as they tried to storm Yelwata’s St. Joseph’s Church, where up to 700 internally displaced people were sleeping.

“But then, the militants made for the town’s market square, where they reportedly used fuel to set fire to the doors of the displaced people’s accommodation, before opening fire in an area where more than 500 people were asleep,” the charity reported.

The death toll makes it the single worst atrocity in the region, where there has been a sudden upsurge in attacks and increasing signs that a concerted militant assault is underway to force an entire community to leave, ACN reported.

Security officials in Benue state on June 22 announced the arrest of several suspects linked to the Yelwata attack.

Attacks in the past week on Yogbo village, also in Guma County, have left some residents fearing another herdsmen invasion.

“Shooting and killing of Christians in Yogbo village of Guma Local Government Area by Fulani herdsmen is ongoing,” resident Fred Samada said in a text message on June 23, to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Please pray for Benue state.”

Resident Tivta Samuel Aondohemba said fears have heightened in Yogbo in the past week “following the activities of armed Fulani militias in the area.”

On June 18, armed Fulani militias attempted to launch an attack on Yogbo, he said.

“They entered the community and fired several shots. Fortunately, the few security personnel stationed in the area responded, and the militias retreated,” Aondohemba said in a public statement. “However, the situation did not end there as the same armed Fulani militias were later spotted on the outskirts of Yogbo, heavily armed and grazing their cattle freely on farms belonging to Christians.”

Herdsmen also blocked the Yogbo-Gyungu Adze road and killed one Christian, he said.

“On Monday, June 23, the armed Fulani militias attacked Christian farmers from Yogbo,” Aondohemba said. “From these incidents, it is clear that the armed Fulani militias are targeting Yogbo for a possible large-scale attack.”

In the Yelwata attack, church leaders told ACN that corpses were scattered everywhere, with the bodies of infants, children and parents burned beyond recognition.

The village’s Catholic parish priest, the Rev. Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee, told ACN that he and others identified the assailants as Fulanis.

“There is no question about who carried out the attack. They were definitely Fulanis,” Angbianbee told ACN. “They were shouting ‘Alahu Akhbar.’”









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