50 Nigerian Christians Killed, Including Women And Children, In Fulani Militant Attacks
Between November 24 and December 6, 50 Christians, including women and children, were brutally killed by militant Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria, according to multiple reports.
On November 24, over 300 Fulani herdsmen, a predominantly Muslim group notorious for targeting Christians, launched attacks in the largely Christian communities of Logo and Katsina-Ala. During the assault, the herdsmen shot indiscriminately, killing 30 people and injuring 37 others. A week later, another attack by Fulani herdsmen claimed the lives of 18 Christians who were en route to church.
Benjamin Uzenda, a former member of the Logo Local Government Council, described the attackers as heavily armed, shooting indiscriminately and using machetes to butcher some victims. They also destroyed crops on nearby farmlands, leaving the communities devastated.
On December 6, a gunman entered the home of a young Christian woman and shot her in the stomach while she was studying. That same day, a pastor was killed in his home.
These attacks are part of a broader pattern of violence against Christians in Nigeria. In 2023 alone, over 7,000 Christians are believed to have been killed, with the violence continuing since January. Among the victims was Reverend Manasseh Ibrahim, who was ambushed and shot while traveling to minister to his congregation.
A report by the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa, published in August, revealed that between 2019 and 2023, approximately 56,000 people died due to ethnic and religious violence in Nigeria. Of these, 30,880 were civilians, with Christians making up 16,769 of the victims. Christians were found to be disproportionately targeted, being 6.5 times more likely to be killed and 5.1 times more likely to be abducted than Muslims.
Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, criticized the Nigerian government for its failure to protect its Christian population. She stated, “Fulani militants are waging a religious war against undefended Christian farming communities, and the Nigerian government has tolerated these attacks for years. The militants’ goal to eradicate Christianity through murder, forced conversion, and displacement appears to be shared by the government in Abuja.”
Shea also condemned the Biden administration’s decision in 2021 to remove Nigeria from the U.S. State Department’s list of countries that severely violate religious freedom, despite overwhelming evidence of continued persecution.
In its 2024 World Watch List, Open Doors ranked Nigeria as the sixth-worst country for Christian persecution, noting that more than 82% of Christians killed for their faith globally were from Nigeria. Some anticipate that the country may once again be placed on the U.S. “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) list under the returning Trump administration.
