They prayed at home and abroad this month that God’s intervention was prayed for Nigerian terrorist Christians awaiting help from the government and the international community.
Christians from the area of Bassa County, Plateau, prayed for the relief and strength of the worship center on July 9th. Among the predominantly Christian Iligwe ethnic group, church leaders in Miango district said that the government had not stopped the attacks of Fulani herdsmen and were forced to seek God’s mercy.
Rev. Joshua Bali, regional chair of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Rev. Adamson Gado, president of the Irigwe Minister’s Forum (IMF), said in a statement at the press conference that the purpose is to seek God’s healing in their land and their communities.
“As the horrific attacks and killings continue across the country, we must rise and build up disparities for Iligwe, the Highlands and Nigeria as a whole,” they said. “We are asking all families, churches, workplaces and business locations to take this day seriously.”
The call to prayer came shortly after continued violence, including an attack by a herdsman on the village of Jeb Miango on the evening of June 26th. On the same day, the herdsmen carried massive destruction of farmland and crops in the villages of nzhwerenvi and nkienwhie in Bassa County, residents said.
In the Teegbe district, herdsmen attacked the villages of Zoulul and Taegbe on June 23, killing three Christians, including two children, and injuring two others, said community leader Joseph Chudu. It was Monday Shibi, 30, who was murdered. Baco Mari Di, 15; Radibara, 13. Esaubara, 20 and 16, was injured, he said.
“The attack reflects previous incidents in which Fulani militias targeted Christians,” Chudu told Christian Daily International Morning Star News. “Notwithstanding this, we continue to demand justice and peace from our community.”
He also said that in the past, he was attacked by herdsmen in the area in the villages of Kpachudu and Nkiendowro, where a nine-month-old baby was murdered along with three other Christians, including two women.
At about the same time, prayers for persecuted Christians were included in the Australian Baptist World Conference. The July 7-12 Parliament in Brisbane offered a major part of the prayer for persecuted Christians.
The event attracted thousands of Baptist representatives from around the world, including Nigeria, and was hosted by Australian Baptist Church in Brisbane.
“A moment of strong solidarity when global Baptists stood in the gaps, a moment of prayer lifted for persecuted believers around the world,” the church statement read. “May God’s comfort, strength and justice are flooded with the face of our sisters and brothers in court.”
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.
