For information about Orthodox Christianity in Nigeria, see here.
For previous coverage of the persecution of Christians in Nigeria from ChristianPersecution.com, see here.
“Herdsmen Kill 15 Christians, Kidnap 32 Others in Nigeria,” Morning Star News, September 18, 2023:
ABUJA, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – Fulani herdsmen on Friday (Sept. 15) killed 15 Christians in southern Kaduna state, Nigeria, sources said.
The attack on Dogon Noma village, Kajuru County came amid disclosure that such attacks have led to the death of 23 pastors and the closure of 200 worship buildings in Kaduna state in the past four years.
Besides taking 15 lives, the assailants also kidnapped 32 Christians from Dogon Noma village, area residents said.
“Fulani herdsmen surrounded the village in their hundreds, shooting anybody in sight; the attack occurred at about 7 a.m.,” David Musa told Morning Star News in a text message. “Pray for Dogon Noma community.”
Moses Ishaya said he lost two relatives in the massacre.
“It is with a heavy heart that I notify you about an attack on our community, Dogon Noma village, by Fulani herdsmen on the morning of Friday,” Ishaya told Morning Star News in a text message. “The attack has resulted in the killing of two of my family members, who include our sister from Karamai village, who got married at Dogon Noma village, and the second victim, the daughter of my relation, Mr. John Zango.”
He identified other Christians killed as Bala Laya and Gimbiya Coaster. Among others kidnapped, he named three abducted as Set Alkali, Saviour Christopher and Sico Nicholas.
Ernest Maidawa, a youth leader in the area, urged government officials to urgently take action.
“We are saddened with these renewed acts of attacks and gruesome killings of innocent Christians in Dogon Noma community by Fulani herdsmen,” Maidawa told Morning Star News in a text message. “We are urging law enforcement agencies as a matter of urgency to check the spate of these attacks on innocent Christians in our communities. Governments both at state and federal levels in Nigeria must also be seen to be doing more as they have not shown capacity in their core mandate and responsibilities to protect lives and properties.”
On Tuesday (Sept. 12), Christian leaders in Kaduna state met with police officials in the city of Kaduna and advised them that attacks by armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists have resulted in the killing of 23 pastors, the abduction of 215 Christians still in captivity and the closure of 200 church worship buildings in four years.
The Rev. Joseph Hayab, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Christian leaders from 23 Local Government Areas told Kaduna State Commissioner of Police Musa Garba and other senior officers that Christians have faced fierce persecution….
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, but 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 strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.
Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds….
