The Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians in central Nigeria on Wednesday (May 7) after killing 10 other people in the same area the previous month, sources said.
Marvis Eje, a member of the Agatu Local Government Council, said the herdsmen had killed two Christian farmers in Otabi Alpa village. The two Christians were from Agatu County, but their farm is in Otukpo County, he said.
One of the murdered Christians was Tony Adeho, the village chief of the Christian Odugubeho community, and Eje has identified the other victim as Jerry John.
“Both worked on Otobi Akpa’s farm when they were ambushed and killed by armed herdsmen,” Ene told Star News for Christian Daily International Morning.
Area resident Noah Unogu also attributed the killing to the Fulani herdsmen.
“How long will this killing last in the Christian community?” Unogwu said in a text message to Christian Daily International Morning Star News.
Regional resident David Okpe also sent a text message about the murder.
“Recent attacks by Fulani herdsmen are extremely discouraged and inhumane as property has been destroyed and the level of life being present is wild bar,” Okpe said. “To this extent, imagine why humans are unkind to their fellow human beings. Security agencies need to do more to reduce this level of constant attacks on the Christian community.”
The Fulani herdsmen also invaded the Otbiakpa area of Otukpo County on April 13th and killed 10 Christians, local residents said. Patrick Godwin said the assailant was a Fulani herdsman.
“Many Christians were killed and their homes were destroyed,” Godwin told Christian Daily International Morning Star News via text message. “The community was attacked in the evening around 6pm.”
Benue State Assembly member Agbo Kennedy said 10 Christians were killed in the attack.
“The attacks against Christians in the Otbiakpa community seem horrifying and a gory,” Kennedy said. “A five-year-old child was killed. The victim’s body was subjected to bullet wounds and machete amputation. Both the woman and the man were massacred at home as most people returned from the farm around 6pm.”
Catherine Anne, a spokesman for the Benue State Police Command, confirmed the attack on Otobi-Akpa.
“The Venue State Police Commissioner ordered the deployment of more officers in the area,” Annene said. “We can assure local people that attackers will be tracked, tracked and arrested to confront the rage of the law.”
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, while some Fulani adhere to radical Islamist ideology, all party parliamentary groups (Appgs) in the UK for international freedom or beliefs.
“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 say they believe herdsmen’s attacks on the Christian community in the mid-zone of Nigeria are inspired by the desire to forcefully take over Islam as it forced Christian lands and made desertification difficult to maintain the flock.
According to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List, Nigeria has remained one of the most dangerous places for 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 farm communities, killing hundreds of Christians and, above all, hundreds of Christians. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State (ISWAP) of West African states are also active in northern states in the country where federal control is poor and Christians and their communities continue to be targeted for attacks, sexual violence and the killing of disability. 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.
