Last week’s suspected Fulani herdsmen have invaded three predominantly Christian communities in Benue, Nigeria, killing six Christians, wounding another Christian, and luring eight residents. Local sources said.
On Monday and Wednesday (February 3rd and 5th) attacks on villages of Okpomaju, Odudaje and Asa villages in Otukpo District scattered the residents and turned homes to ashes. Catherine Seweese Anene of Benue State Police Command told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that six people were killed, eight people were lured and one was injured in the attack.
The herdsmen invaded the village and shot the villagers in an attempt to escape, said Agaba Onirokw, a resident of the area. Another resident, Oga Sunday, told Star News of Christian Daily International Morning that he was shot by a group of armed herdsmen and escaped narrowly when chased off the farm.
Maxwell Ogiri, chairman of the Otukpo Local Government Council, reported the attacks on Monday and Wednesday to security agencies, saying soldiers and police had been deployed in the area.
Edwin Ochai, president of the region’s diaspora group, has issued a statement claiming that violence that began in the Agathu Regional Government Area has tragically spread to APA, Otukpo and other parts of southern Benue. . ”
“The latest attack in Okpamaju, the peaceful community of Otukpo LGA, claimed the lives of several innocent villagers, reduced their homes to ashes and crushed their families,” Ochai said. Ta. “We condemn the deafening silence and inaction of leaders at all levels, including local government chairs, state legislators, federal representatives and senators representing Benue South, in the strongest terms. .”
He focuses on leaders in the Southern Senate District of Benu, including local government chairs, state legislators, federal representatives and senators, to focus on solutions to protect communities, including local security and resource mobilization. urged the security summit to be urgently convened.
“It’s time to act, before our community is completely wiped out from the surface of the planet,” Ochai said. “Attackers must be pursued, arrested and tried. Failure in action only limits them even further. Leaders at all levels say that their position is not for decoration, but for service. You have to understand that this is because of it.”
Ochai said it is expected that representatives will speak boldly both inside and outside the room to demand immediate action.
“Silence is not an option,” he said. “If the state government cannot guarantee our safety, we are asking for a state of emergency to be declared in southern Benue. Our people’s lives cannot continue to be treated as consumables.”
He called for a comprehensive plan to support victims, including providing relief materials, rebuilding the destroyed homes and ensuring safe return of displaced people.
“This is Clarion’s appeal to all political, traditional and religious leaders. “The time of self-satisfaction is over. If you don’t act now, you will have to trust people. Not only will you lose, you will be fully responsible for the consequences of your inaction.”
“Three days of sustained attacks in the area have injured many villagers, evacuated and burned out the community,” Kennedy Ambo, a member of the Benue State Assembly, representing the Otukpo Uppa region, said in a statement. “He said.
Benue Gov. Hyacinth Iormem Alia issued a gentle statement Thursday (February 6) among residents, indicating that security agencies have been instructed to increase surveillance in the area to prevent further attacks. I guaranteed that.
“The state government will take all the necessary actions to ensure that those who disrupt the peace of this community will be arrested,” Aria said.
Nigeria has remained one of the most dangerous places on the planet for Christians, according to the 2025 World Watchlist of the countries where it is the hardest to be Christians. According to WWL, of the 4,476 Christians killed for faith around the world during the reporting period, 3,100 (69%) were in Nigeria.
“The scale of anti-Christian violence in this country is already at the highest possible level under the global watch list methodology,” the report states.
In the north-central zone of the country, where Christians are more common than they are in the northeast and northwest, Islamic extremist Fulani militias attack farming communities, killing hundreds of Christians and more than anything, hundreds of Christians . Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State (ISWAP), a disparate group in West Africa, are also active in northern states in the country where federal government controls are poor and Christians and their communities continue to be targeted for attacks. . Sexual violence and the murder of disabilities, according to the report. Ransom aid has been increasing significantly in recent years.
The violence spreads across southern states, with new jihadist terrorist group Lakrawa appearing in the northwest, armed with sophisticated weapons and an extremist agenda, WWL noted. Lakrawa is affiliated with the expansionist al-Qaeda rebellion Jamaa Nusrat ul Islam Wa al-Muslimin, or Zinim, which is derived from Mali.
Nigeria ranked 7th in the 2025 WWL list of 50 worst countries for Christians.
With millions of figures in Nigeria and Sahel, Fulani, primarily Muslim, constitute hundreds of clans of many different lines that do not hold the views of extremists, but some Fulani are Extreme Islamist ideology, sticks to all British parties for international freedom. Convictions (APPG) as outlined in the 2020 report.
“They are clearly intent to adopt a comparable strategy for Boko Haram and Iswap and target strong symbols of Christian and Christian identity,” the AppG report said.
Nigerian Christian leaders forced Islam as herdsmen’s attacks on the Christian community in the middle zone of Nigeria forced Christian lands to take over Christian lands and made it difficult for desertification to maintain herds. He says he believes he is inspired by his desire to take over.
