Attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria during Holy Week resulted in the deaths of at least 94 individuals. The perpetrators of these assaults were reportedly members of Muslim groups.
Violent Attacks on Christian Communities
A report from the Catholic News Agency stated that on April 2, armed men raided Palm Sunday worship at a Pentecostal congregation in Akenawe-Tswarev, Logo County, Benue, Nigeria. They shot and killed a small boy and kidnapped the pastor and other congregants.
As mentioned, three days later, on Wednesday, April 5, shooters massacred at least 50 individuals in the hamlet of Umogidi in Utokpo County, a Catholic stronghold in western Benue. In addition, invaders from the Muslim faith invaded an elementary school in the village of Ngban on Good Friday night. The structure serves as a shelter for over one hundred exiled Christian farmers and their families. As a result, dozens of people were slain in the attack.
According to Father Remigius Ihyula, who serves as the head of the Benue branch of the Justice, Development, and Peace Commission (JDPC), a Nigerian Catholic aid organization, the attack that took place on Friday, April 7, it led to the deaths of 43 persons and injuries to more than 40 others.
Moreover, in Otukpo, hours before the attack, Benue's leaving governor, Samuel Ortom, warned citizens to stay alert and condemned what he regarded as a tardy response by police and army units to respond to his demands for help.
Ortom had been pushing for a reform in the laws governing the sale of firearms at the federal level for the previous four years, but his efforts had gone unrewarded. At least 134 persons were killed in attacks across Benue over five days. Governor Ortom stated when he met with survivors of the attack on Friday, April 7, in Ngban. Accordingly, a Nigerian news outlet, an operation that took place on Monday, April 3, in Apa resulted in the deaths of 47 people.
On the other hand, Angelus News reported that the anti-Christian violence watchdog group known as "Open Doors" in 2021 indicated that over the seven years preceding 2021, that is, between 2013 and 2020, around 526 Christians had been assassinated around the world while celebrating Easter Sunday, with hundreds more Christians being wounded in the process.
Also Read:Aerial Bombing in Myanmar Killed Members of Bible Missionary Church
Tragic Holy Week in Nigeria
According to Aid to the Church in Need, the Makurdi Diocese is located in Benue State, part of Nigeria's Middle Belt. This region of Nigeria has been impacted immensely due to the violence that Fulani herdsmen took out against settled farmers. The conflict is difficult to understand. The centuries-old animosity between nomad herders and farmers has been exacerbated in recent years by the introduction of automatic weapons that flooded the illegal market following the fall of the Libyan government.
However, since most Fulani are Muslims and most farmers in the region are Christians, the problem has been made worse by adding a religious element. There is a widespread fear that those who wish to rid part of its Christian population are stoking the violence perpetrated by the Fulani.
Related Article:Terrorists in Nigeria Killed Rev. Musa Mairimi of Evangelical Church Winning All, Wife Kidnapped
