ADU, Nigeria — Gabriel Anthony, 25, was steeped in quiet, prayerful devotion Sept. 1 in his northern Nigerian village when he heard gunshots.
“Within minutes, bullets were piercing into our rooms,” Anthony said. “I escaped from my room by jumping through the window.”
A half hour later, seven of his relatives in Adu village, Kaduna state, were dead, including his father, 60-year-old Anthony Nkom; his mother, 45-year-old Asabe Anthony; his brother, 35-year-old James Anthony; and another brother, 37-year-old Andrew Anthony. Also killed were three of his nephews: 5-year-old Meshack Aaron, 12-year-old Bulus James Anthony and 15-year-old Happiness Anthony.
The bodies of Happiness and Meshack were buried in one grave, and those of the other five in another.
Two other Christians in the village were killed and three were wounded in the attack by more than a dozen ethnic Fulani Muslims, Anthony said. All of those killed were members of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Adu.
As Anthony’s relatives were being shot, in another part of Adu village another set of Muslim Fulani gunmen attacked the house of Joseph Abwoi, 50, killing him and his wife, Asabat Abwoi, 40. They were buried in a single grave.
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