At least 200 displaced people believed to be Christians were killed in Nigeria’s troubled Middle Belt last week. The premeditated attack on Friday night was described by a senior Anglican cleric as the work of “a well-trained, well-equipped and well-funded” Fulani Islamist militia group.
The Ven. Dr Hassan John, Director of Research for the Church of Nigeria, said that attackers approached three villages in Benue state, including Yelwata, which they surrounded before opening fire. “Those that tried to flee were either shot or cut down with machetes,” he said. He explained that the initial death toll of more than 100 rose as more bodies were discovered and others, who had been gravely injured, died later.
Dr John told the Church Times that the violence in central states such as Benue should not be understood as a “fight for scarce grazing land” by Fulani Muslim herders driven south by climate change, as it is sometimes termed by some foreign media and governments. “The perpetrators and their sponsors are known and their agenda, under the guise of fighting over grazing land, has been to strategically wipe out villages, particularly Christian villages, leaving out Muslims in the villages, even if they reside side by side with Christians,” he said.
At least 200 displaced people believed to be Christians were killed in Nigeria’s troubled Middle Belt last week https://t.co/FoqcsReaho
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 19, 2025