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Nigeria: Fulani militants attack Christian villages, kill 32, burn down four churches

February 20, 2020

Christian persecution in Nigeria: Muslim Fulani herdsmen, along with the terror group Boko Haram, have been terrorizing and killing Christians in Nigeria with impunity for years now, with little or no significant response from the Nigerian government or military. Nathan Johnson, ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, says rightly: “These kinds of attacks on Christians in Nigeria are so commonplace that the world finds it easy to turn a blind eye. Few care that there are people killed daily. International media and organizations want to pass these kinds of tragedies off as normal or historical. They want to say that there could not be a religious motivation for them. That would make it too difficult to deal with.

This underscores the fact that the situation of Christians in Nigeria has become a human rights catastrophe of immense proportions. The Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, once again urgently implores the United Nations and the governments of all nations that are committed to human rights and religious freedom to make the plight of Nigeria’s Christians a top priority. Those Christians are walking the way of the Cross. May our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ also bless them with the joy of a resurrection and new flourishing of their communities.

For previous coverage of the persecution of Christians in Nigeria from ChristianPersecution.com, see here.

“At Least 32 Christians Killed in Nigeria,” International Christian Concern, February 18, 2020:

02/18/2020 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Fulani militants attacked three Christian villages in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria on January 26 and 27. During this attack, at least 32 people were killed in the villages of Kwatas, Rubio, and Marish. In addition to the 32 Christians who were killed, four churches in these communities were also burned down.

These churches include the Kauna Baptist Church and Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Rubio village, and the COCIN Church and Anglican Church in Marish. Although other structures were also destroyed, the destruction of these churches demonstrates a particular hatred toward Christianity. Despite this, the Nigerian government insists that there is no religious motivation in Fulani militant attacks throughout Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.

Aside from the churches, at least 65 compounds were burnt or razed in Rubio and another 45 compounds in Marish. This has left 7,500 people without homes, churches, or access to food and work….

Nathan Johnson, ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, said, “These kinds of attacks on Christians in Nigeria are so commonplace that the world finds it easy to turn a blind eye. Few care that there are people killed daily. International media and organizations want to pass these kinds of tragedies off as normal or historical. They want to say that there could not be a religious motivation for them. That would make it too difficult to deal with. For the people involved daily, however, this is life and death. The world can no longer turn a blind eye. We have to be willing to call this what it is: murder. The Nigerian government must be held accountable for not protecting its citizens, and the perpetrators must be punished. The Nigerian government must also show its commitment to the nation’s Christian citizens by helping to rebuild their places of worship which are daily burned down or destroyed.”