No Pandemic Pause in Nigeria as Muslim Militants Kill 13 Christians, Kidnap 13 More, Attack 5 Villages

Fulani Muslim militants recently killed 13 Christians and kidnapped 13 others in a series of attacks over a three-day period in north-central Nigeria.  

Morning Star News reports the raids on the five villages in the counties of Kajuru and Chikun in Kaduna state occurred from April 23-25 and drove more than 1,000 people from their homes.

The Christians who were killed were members of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Catholic, Baptist, United Church of Christ in Nations (HEKAN), or Assemblies of God churches.

The militants invaded Kikwari and Kujeni communities in Kajuru County on April 25 at about 3:00 pm, Luka Binniyat, spokesman for the Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU), said in a statement.

"The armed herdsmen stormed Kikwari Village, Kajuru LGA, and shot three persons and carted away livestock and foodstuff in large quantities as residents fled for dear lives," Binniyat said.

"As the overpowered Christians made bids to escape, some were rounded up and herded into the vast forest," he explained. "To date, no one has any information about their conditions. No one is sure if they are dead or alive and in what condition."

"All the villagers numbering over 1,000 are now taking refuge with relations in nearby towns under tough conditions in this grim period of coronavirus lockdown," Binniyat added.

The armed herdsmen were accompanied by other assailants who reportedly wore military uniforms.

Binniyat appealed to the federal and Kaduna State governments to rescue the abducted Christians and end the militants' attacks on defenseless Christian communities.

"We are calling on Kaduna and the federal government to assist in the search for our missing Christians to reduce the mounting tension in the affected communities," he said.

Displaced Christians are unable to return their villages as the herdsmen are still there, Peter Aboki, president of the Gbagyi Development Union (GDU) in Kaduna State, said last week.

"We want the government to do something urgently, because Christians are being killed or abducted almost on a daily basis," Aboki told Morning Star News. "Those areas are becoming a no-go area as a result of the deadly activities of herdsmen."

The Fulani herdsmen, also known as the Fulani militia, are a semi-nomadic group herding cattle over vast areas, living in the central regions of Nigeria. The majority of the herdsmen are Muslim and have fought with Christian farmers over grazing land for centuries. 

The Fulani were early adopters of Islam, participating in holy wars, or jihads, in the 16th Century that established them as a dominant social and economic force in Western Africa, according to WorldWatch Monitor.

Earlier this year, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a genocide warning for Nigeria, calling on the United Nations Security Council to take action. CSI issued the call in response to "a rising tide of violence directed against Nigerian Christians and others classified as 'infidels' by Islamist militants in the country's north and middle belt regions.'"

Meanwhile, the mainstream media in the US remains largely silent as Muslim terrorists' merciless killing of Nigerian Christians continues. 

Attacks on Nigerian Christians have steadily risen over the past few years. The Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), headed up by a member of the British House of Lords, Baroness Cox, estimates that 6,000 Christians in Nigeria have been murdered since 2015.

Nigeria is ranked 12th on Open Doors' 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.