Attacks by Muslim Fulani herdsmen or allied gunmen in southern Kaduna State appear to be increasingly militant, marked by greater sophistication in training and arms, sources said.
Advocacy group Jubiliee Campaign released a statement this week noting that a militant group associated with Fulani herdsmen has become increasingly dangerous.
“With the presence of the Boko Haram terrorist organisation, the world’s deadliest terrorist organization, Nigeria contains two of the top terrorist groups in the world,” the statement read. “The Fulani militants have gotten little international attention due to a focus on the Boko Haram, allowing their activities to grow unchecked. They typically kill villagers, burn villages, and move in with their cattle so that any survivors from the attacked village are unable to return and rebuild their lives. Christian communities have been especially attacked and displaced.”
Having retaken much of the territory that the Islamic extremist Boko Haram claimed in Nigeria’s northeast in 2014-2015, the Nigerian military has reportedly warned Fulani herdsmen that they will be targeted next, according to a Nigerian Defense spokesman.
At least 22 Christians in Kaduna state were killed in the past three weeks in attacks that included men in military uniform calling a meeting that ended in the slaughter of the village leaders, sources said.
Area leaders blamed Muslim Fulani herdsmen and militants allied with the herdsmen for the attacks, which have accelerated in recent months.
“Two churches were destroyed at Angwan Ali and Sabon Gari villages, while all 22 Christians killed by the herdsmen are members of local church congregations in area villages,” Rev Dauda Samson of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Angwan Mailafia, told Morning Star News.
Pastor Samson said that herdsmen killed one Christian in Tudun Wada on 4th November. On 27th October, he said, three Christians were killed in Angwan Ali; nine were killed in Pasakori village; seven in Ungwan Misisi; and one in Angwan Kagoro-Gidan Waya.
