ABUJA, Nigeria — Muslim Fulani herdsmen are suspected in the slaying of 12 Christians in Nigeria’s Benue State.
Michael Aondohemba, general coordinator of Turan People’s Assembly, said the Jan. 28 raid on the villages of Ichembe and Mbaigbe left 12 dead and many wounded, as well as homes, farms and crops destroyed. He told Morning Star News that government security agencies had been warned that thousands of herdsmen were coming into Benue state, but the agencies provided no help for those living in the area.
Fulani herdsmen and other groups, such as the Islamic State, have been relentlessly attacking Christian areas for years. The different militant groups are known to kill, maim, rape and abduct people for ransom or sex slavery.
Nigerian Christian leaders believe herdsmen are attacking Christian communities to take the land and to impose Islam, states Morning Star.
Nigeria is No. 6 on Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian. In 2022, Nigeria led the world in the number of Christians killed or abducted for their faith.
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