The Fulani herdsmen attacked two villages in Kaduna, Nigeria on Monday (7th July) and killed two Christians and injured three after terrorizing villagers in another area in June, local residents said.
In Gemma County, herdsmen attacked the villages of Dogon Philli and Atan after 9pm, area resident Sandra Musa said.
“One Christian who was killed in the village of Dogon Fili is 38-year-old Ilya John. He was shot and killed by Fulani theft,” Musa told Christian Daily International Morning Star News in a text message. “Two other Christians, 39-year-old James Ishaya and Elisha Malam, 38, from nearby Antan village, were shot and injured by bandits. Unfortunately, some commuters were attacked by these herdsmen who kidnapped some of them at the scene of the incident.”
A previous attack in Kajru County on June 28th invited community leaders from Boda village, primarily Christian, local residents said.
“Obadi Aigouda, a 48-year-old Border community leader, was lured by an armed man whom he believes is Fulani’s herdsman,” Peter Stephen said. “He was invited at home at about 1am on June 28th while he was asleep.”
Stephen Maikoli, community leader and director of Kajur County’s Kufana district, confirmed that the adduction took place around 1am on June 28th.
“This pointless act of violence further enhanced the atmosphere of anxiety and fear among Christian residents in Boda and the surrounding communities,” Maikoli said. “The Kufana District Council is calling for immediate and sustained security measures by the Nigerian government to protect Christians and bring about further attacks in the community.”
In the village of Ungwar Sarki, a predominantly Christian village in Kajru County, the herdsmen chased and executed community leaders in early June, said Ishaya Onnusim, chairman of the Ugom Progressive Union.
“At about 12 noon, Fulani terrorists invaded our community during the day,” Onnusim said at a press conference. “The attack was carefully planned and executed viciously. The terrorists arrived in large numbers. This time it’s a tactical move to ensure mobility, speed and efficient adjustments for the assault, with each bike carrying the rider and passengers on it.”
Upon arrival, they began shooting dead people they saw without warning or provocation, he said. Panic men, women and children ran in different directions with the sound of gunfire.
“Stephen Alhassan, one of our beloved community members, tragically lost his life during the attack,” Onnusim said. “Steven began to run, but the terrorists found him and chased him. They mercilessly chased him onto the bike and shot him as he escaped.”
Realizing he gained distance and might run away, they fired a shot that attacked him with his foot, he said.
“He fell to the ground and was defenseless. The terrorists approached him, placed a gun on his forehead and executed brutally, wrapping his head around his,” Ondusim said. “Stephen Alhassan was about 57 years old. He was a father, a farmer and a precious member of our community. This is just one of the tragic examples of the trauma we face almost every week.”
Such attacks became almost a regular event, causing villagers to be in a state of constant fear, trauma and uncertainty, he added.
“Because of this lasting threat, our people had no choice but to live in a state of vigilance,” Onnusim said. “It was farming season, and many of our villagers went to their farms deep in the bushes to survive, and farming was their only source of livelihood and yet it became a dangerous job.
People in the Ugom community live in unbearable fear and difficulties, he added.
“We can no longer sleep peacefully in our home,” he said. “We cannot go to the market and trade or buy food. We cannot go to our farm. This is our only means of survival. Our kids cannot go to school. Our elderly are helpless. Our women and girls are vulnerable.”
Their lives are at risk every day, he said.
“The situation in our community is terribly scary,” Onnusim said. “We live in conditions that humans must endure. Despite repeated reports, seeking help and appealing to the authorities, our pain continues to become unprecedented.”
He appealed to the Nigerian government, Kaduna officials, security agencies, human rights groups, non-governmental organizations, religious leaders and international organizations to come to their aid before more lives are lost.
“We urgently need security, humanitarian assistance and protection,” he said. “Our community is being destroyed, our people are being hunted, our future is being stolen. Let Ugom Christians wait for the world until they are wiped out of the map before anything is done. This is a call for urgent intervention.”
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 scarce 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.
