Nigeria ranks second in the number of Christians killed for their faith, after Pakistan.
Not less than 32 people were killed and a pastor’s house and church building were burnt down in two nights of attacks last week by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Plateau state, Nigeria.
The Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) building, as well as a pastor’s home and dozens upon dozens of other structures were destroyed as a result of the attack which was carried out on predominantly Christian Marish village on Monday evening (Jan. 27), one of three communities in Bokkos County hit in armed assaults that began the previous evening, sources told Morning Star News.
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Herdsmen killed 17 people in Marish and Ruboi villages on Monday after killing 15 people in an attack on Kwatas on Sunday (Jan. 26), Titus Ayuba Alams, former speaker of the Plateau state House of Assembly, told Morning Star News.
“The attacks took place between the hours of 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. on Kwatas on Sunday, and also on Monday within the same time frame on Ruboi and Marish by the herdsmen,” Alam said.
Five people were wounded in the attacks and several houses were burned, area resident Theophilus Mancha told Morning Star News.
“A pregnant woman and 16 others have been killed,” Mancha said.
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Kwatas, Marish and Ruboi are suburbs of Bokkos town, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) southwest of Plateau State University, Bokkos.
Kelly Kanang, another area resident, confirmed that Fulani herdsmen launched the attacks.
Benjamin Dogo of Kwatas informed Morning Star News in a text message, “Our people have been killed again. About 15 of the dead have been evacuated to the mortuary along with many others that sustained injuries during the attack on Sunday night.”
However, the figures provided by the Plateau State Police Command differ from those offered by Alams. The Plateau State Police Command claimed that only 26 people were killed in the recent attacks in Bokkos and Mangu Local Government Areas, according to Daily Post.
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“In the attacks, 14 persons were killed in Kwatas, four at Sabon Barki, three at Marish and one at Changet in Bokkos, this makes it 22 persons killed in Bokkos,” Police spokesperson Ubah Ogaba told The Daily Post. “Also, four persons were killed at Marish in Mangu. This makes the total persons killed in the two areas 26.”
Plateau Gov. Simon Lalong condemned the attacks on the Christian communities in a statement through press spokesman Makut Macham.
“My heart again bleeds by this tragedy as lives of innocent citizens are cut short for no reason,” reads the statement issued on Monday. “Security agencies must go after those who are behind these attacks and their sponsors so they can face the law and be taught a lesson.”
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Sen. Istifanus Gyang, deputy chairman of the Nigerian Senate Committee on Defense, said attacks on the Christian communities raise questions on the readiness of security agencies to protect people against herdsmen onslaughts.
“Only last week, Kombun village in Mangu LGA was attacked and now, it is Kwatas, Marish, and Ruboi villages in neighboring Bokkos LGA,” he said.
In what is being noted as systematic direct war against Christianity in Nigeria, Pastors, Christian Leaders and Seminarians are either being kidnapped or killed every week.
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Christians in Nigeria have been the target of many attacks by the vicious Boko Haram jihadist Islamist terrorists, herdsmen attacks and many other kidnapping in recent times.
Nigeria ranked 12th on Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution but second in the number of Christians killed for their faith, behind Pakistan.
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See More Photos From The Mass Burial for victims of Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacks on Kwatas community, Bokos local government area of Plateau State
