Seven Christians, including a 12-year-old boy, who were killed in an attack in Nigeria’s Kaduna state were remembered on Saturday, November 8th. On the same day, Islamic extremists torched houses and church buildings in Borno state.
Hundreds of people, many from outside the region, attended a funeral in Damakaswa town, Kauru district, in northwestern Nigeria’s southern Kaduna state, to remember Christians killed by Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists on October 31, residents said.
“We buried seven of our beloved Christians who were killed by terrorists and Fulani herdsmen,” Daniel Dodo, a resident of the area, told Christian Daily International Morning Star News. “Funerals are tearful ceremonies that Christians shed in the midst of deliberate violence against us because of our Christian faith.”
The funeral was held for Johanna Adam (46). Bala Budhe Chawai, 57 years old. Yakub Bala, 50 years old. Abubakar Yau, 30 years old. Ishaya Dauda, 56 years old. Monday Nuvene, 46 years old. and Savior Emmanuel, 12 years old.
“This funeral was a powerful demonstration of unity, faith and common resilience for Christians,” Dodeau said. “Families wept, neighbors hugged and prayers abounded as hundreds gathered to remember the Christian victims. An innocent life taken too soon, but never forgotten.”
Pastor Madaki Saruki of the Evangelical Church of All Winners (ECWA) told mourners that they were burying their loved ones, but not their hopes.
“Today we weep, but we choose unity,” Pastor Sarki said. “The blood of the innocent must unite us, protect each other, support peace and honor the memory of those we have lost.”
Rahila Chaweig, a local resident, said the Christian community in Damakaswa left the funeral with heavy hearts, but also with a renewed sense of solidarity, determined that love and peace will overcome fear and violence.
“As the last prayers were said and the grave was covered, the sound of sobs gave way to quiet determination,” Chawaig told Christian Daily International Morning Star News.
The Fulani, a predominantly Muslim group of millions in Nigeria and the Sahel region, are made up of hundreds of clans of various lineages that do not hold extremist views, although some Fulani espouse radical Islamist ideology, Britain’s All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) said in a 2020 report.
“They have adopted strategies comparable to Boko Haram and ISWAP, and have demonstrated a clear intent to target Christians and powerful symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report said.
Christian leaders in Nigeria say they believe herdsmen’s attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by a desire to forcibly occupy Christian lands and impose Islam, as desertification makes it difficult to maintain herds.
The report said that in the north-central region, which has a larger Christian population than the northeast and northwest, Fulani Islamist militias attacked rural villages, killing hundreds of people, especially Christians. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the country’s northern provinces, which are poorly controlled by the federal government, and Christians and their communities continue to be targeted for attacks, sexual violence, and barricaded killings, the report said. Kidnappings for ransom have increased significantly in recent years.
Borno Burnings
Also on Saturday (November 8), militants from the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram attacked a Christian community in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state, burning church buildings, homes and other Christian-owned land in the Chibok region, sources said.
The building of the Church of the Brethren of Nigeria (EYN) was gutted in a fire, residents said.
“The Pemi community in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State is currently under attack by Boko Haram terrorists,” resident Andrew Yohana told Christian Daily International Morning Star News over the weekend. “I need your prayers.”
Resident Peter Maina said the EYN pastor’s house was also damaged in the arson attack.
Another resident, Josiah Ayuba Ponna, said Christians in the area were shocked and outraged by Boko Haram’s attack on Pemi village in Chibok local government area.
“The destruction of EYN churches, stores and cars is a stark reminder of the insecurity in our communities,” Pona told Christian Daily International Morning Star News. “This is not the first time our church has been attacked. We are tired of living in fear. We demand action from our leaders. We need protection, safety, and justice. We demand an end to this senseless violence.”
Resident Tabatha Joel appealed to the Nigerian government for help.
“This violent attack has devastated communities, leaving a trail of destruction, displacement and unimaginable suffering,” Joel said. “The attackers not only targeted homes, but also set fire to cars, churches, and businesses, leaving communities in ruins. Heartbreaking images of burnt out vehicles, destroyed places of worship, and businesses reduced to ashes.”
Christians from Pemi and other parts of Chibok said they were appealing for help as the Chibok region has suffered repeated attacks by Islamic extremists in recent years, including the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in 2014.
“We are scared, vulnerable and in need of urgent assistance. Many people have lost their homes, families and hope due to the attacks,” Joel said. “We are living in fear, women are grieving the loss of loved ones, and children are growing up without parents.”
Jacob Pindar, a local resident, said Christians were heartbroken by the attack.
“The destruction of the EYN church, store and private vehicle goes beyond mere property damage and is a painful reminder that our community remains under siege,” Pindar said. “This is not an isolated incident, as our churches have been repeatedly attacked. We are tired of living under the shadow of constant fear.
The promise is over. We demand immediate and concrete action from governments to decisively end this senseless violence now. ”
Resident Markus Nidda said nearly every village in the Chibok region had been attacked in the past year, with Islamic extremists killing many Christians.
“In the Pemi community, Boko Haram burnt down churches and Christian homes. If this is not genocide, what else is?” Njida said.
Nigeria remains one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a Christian, according to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the Most Difficult Countries to Be a Christian. According to WWL, of the 4,476 Christians killed for their faith around the world during the reporting period, 3,100 (69 percent) were in Nigeria.
“Countermeasures against anti-Christian violence in this country have already reached maximum levels based on the Global Watch List methodology,” the report said.
Violence has spread to southern provinces, and in the northwest a new jihadist terrorist group, Laklawa, has emerged with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, WWL said. Raqlawa is affiliated with Jamaah Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslim (JNIM), an expansionist al-Qaeda rebel group originating from Mali.
Nigeria ranked 7th on WWL’s list of the 50 worst countries for Christians in 2025.
