Ongoing conflict between Fulani herdsmen and Christian villagers in Nigeria has led to further deaths, with 36 reportedly killed in weekend attacks by the Fulani.
The Catholic Makirdi Diocese, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt area, told Aid to the Church in Need that in addition to the killings, nine people were injured and two abducted.
Ori Hope Emmanuel of Makurdi Diocese’s Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace said, “On the evening of his return from a memorial service held in honour of two Catholic priests killed in 2018, Father Solomon Atongo of Jimba Parish, Makurdi Diocese, was shot within the left leg by armed assailants identified as Fulani-Jihadists.
“The two passengers accompanying him were abducted by the attackers. Father Atongo is currently receiving medical treatment.”
A farmer who had just finished his work for the day was also killed by the Jihadists.
Attacks of this sort have gotten increasingly common within the region, especially during Christian festivals like Easter and Christmas. Earlier this 12 months, one Nigerian bishop told the British House of Lords that militant attacks at Christmas were becoming “customary” within the country.
In many cases the safety services do nothing, even after they have advance warning that an attack is coming.
The latest attacks are a working example. Father Oliver Ortese, Chairman of the international Advisory Board for Makurdi Diocese, said, “There is a military post where the Nigerian army personnel are kept by the federal government where this incident happened.
“This has left many questions on our minds? Were the soldiers [a]sleep while these shootings by several Fulani are occurring?”
The most bloody attack of the weekend claimed 20 lives, when the militants began firing indiscriminately into civilians. The youngest known fatality was a two-year-old child, killed in a separate attack in Yelewata Village, along with an older brother and the kid’s father.
Father Oliver Ortese added, “They are creating humanitarian crises as those that survive are moved into camps where they grow to be beggars to eek out a living. You cannot imagine the fact we live in here
“This is horror, that is terror.”
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