We often forget that other countries are far and away different than ours, with violent massacres being not so uncommon. We saw this on Christmas day in Nigeria when Fulani herdsmen attacked a cluster of five predominantly Christian villages in Benue state, massacring 33 people.
The most recent death toll of attacks by herdsmen on Kwande County villages rose to 33 over the weekend with the discovery of more corpses after 21 bodies were found in Anwase village, said resident Udeti Gira. The death toll could rise as recovery efforts continue, he said.
Resident Adam Kpandev said no fewer than 33 Christians were killed in the villages of Anwase, Ubutu, Tse Azege, Nyiev-ya, and Ityuluv as “the terrorist herders” also set homes ablaze.
“The attacks on these communities occurred when the people were busy celebrating Christmas with their loved ones,” Kpandev told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani consist of hundreds of clans from various lineages. While most do not uphold extremist views, some Fulani do subscribe to radical Islamist ideology, as noted by the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) in 2020 report.
“They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.
Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen’s attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam, as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.
Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023, according to Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report. More kidnappings of Christians occurred in Nigeria than in any other country, with 3,300. According to the report, Nigeria ranked third in the number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings, including hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with a total of 750 incidents.