Nigeria: Mass slaughter of Christians continues; 134 murdered by Fulani jihadists in Benue state

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by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The mass slaughter of Christians in Nigeria continues unabated and with impunity: radicalized Fulani Muslim herdsmen murdered 134 Christians in Benue state in the first week of April, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. 

In a press statement about this month’s mass slaughter, Benue Gov. Samuel Ortom said: “Within one week, 134 Christians have been killed by herdsmen. This apart from the fact that of the 23 local government areas of the state, 18 of them have been ravaged by herdsmen attacks, and most Christians in these council areas displaced.”

The Christian groups most affected by the killings belong to the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, and Pentecostal churches, MSN said.

One of the areas in which Christians were killed in Benue’s Kwande County, where the Universal Reformed Christian Church (NKST) is located. In testimony to MSN, President of NKST, Pastor Dominic Anza said: “Armed Fulani herdsmen have been attacking our Christian communities for years, but recently, these attacks became so intense that hardly any day passes without a community being attacked,” Pastor Anza said. 

Another area deeply affected by this month’s mass slaughter is Benue’s Otukpo County: “The Fulani herdsmen have been terrorizing Christians in this area over the years; they destroy farms belonging to Christians at will, and any Christian who tried to question their actions is killed,” Bako Eje, chairman of the Otukpo Local Government Council said in a statement.

Nigeria ranked number one in the world last year for the number of Christians murdered (5,014 according to the US Open Doors humanitarian organization), with over 50,000 slaughtered since Islamic jihadism took hold in the country in 2015).

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