By Ademola Adekusibe
November 13, 2024.
At least 25 Christians have been brutally murdered in the past 12 days as attacks by armed Fulani militants intensify across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, according to a report by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).
The killings, which occurred in Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, and Kaduna states, have reignited global concern over what human rights groups describe as “targeted jihadist violence” against Christians.
CBN, citing Morning Star News and Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List, revealed that Nigeria remains the deadliest country in the world for Christians, accounting for 69 percent of all faith-related murders globally this year. Out of 4,476 Christians killed worldwide for their faith, 3,100 were murdered in Nigeria alone.
Last week, Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians in Nasarawa State, two more in Plateau, and 11 others in coordinated nighttime raids. Villages in Keana County and Riyom were particularly devastated, leaving homes destroyed and residents displaced.
“Keana Local Government Area is no longer safe,” said resident Musa Adamu, lamenting that what was once a peaceful community has now become “a den of armed bandits.”
In Benue State, Rev. Simon Nbach of Flaming Fire Ministry was among 10 Christians killed in Anwule on November 3, where attackers also burned a Catholic Church and razed dozens of homes.
In Kaduna State, locals buried seven Christians, including a 12-year-old boy, after another wave of attacks. “This funeral has become a powerful display of unity and faith,” said community member Daniel Dodo. “Families wept, neighbors embraced, and prayers filled the air.”
Since 2009, over 52,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria, with Benue — 97 percent Christian — at the heart of the violence. One of the deadliest incidents occurred earlier this year when around 200 Christians were massacred in Yelwata, Guma County, Benue State.
Micheel Odeh James of Truth Nigeria described the killings as a “genocidal massacre,” recounting that militants “locked some people in their homes, doused them with petrol, and set them ablaze.”
While most Fulani are peaceful, the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG) noted that radical Fulani factions have adopted terrorist tactics similar to Boko Haram and ISWAP, deliberately targeting Christians and their places of worship.
The violence, once centered in north-central Nigeria, is now spreading southward. Reports point to a new jihadist faction, Lakurawa, operating in the northwest with advanced weaponry and extremist objectives.
In the U.S., former President Donald Trump recently redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” warning that Washington could impose sanctions or even intervene militarily if the Nigerian government fails to protect its Christian population.
“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet — just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
According to Nigerian rights group Intersociety, more than 7,000 Christians have already been massacred in 2025 alone, an average of 35 killings per day, underscoring Nigeria’s worsening humanitarian and religious crisis.
