At least ten Christians were killed, and twelve taken hostage, in multiple attacks by Fulani militants that eyewitnesses say included the participation of uniformed military personnel in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, on 23 and 25 April.
On 23 April, in an attack on Kujeni village, Kauru Local Government Area in Kaduna State, three young men identified as Maigida Maisama, Yahuda Mallam and Bulus Danzaria, were killed by militants. The cohort of assailants included armed Fulani herdsmen and, according to local eyewitnesses, a well-armed band of men in Nigerian Army uniform.
A number of youths were kidnapped in the assault. Some of whom have since escaped, but twelve are thought to remain captive at the time of writing. The abducted Christians were named by a Barnabas contact as: Bako Machu, Isaiah Bako, Timothy Musa, Hakuri Maigid, Apolo Ali, Emmanuel Maikasa, Haruna Dogo, Titus Ahmadu, Caleb Bakinpa, Tanimu Ami, Samuel Usman and Maigida Gamashewa.
Three Christian men, all married, were shot dead in an attack on 25 April in Kikwari village, also in Kauru local government area. The dead were identified as father-of-eight Ado Maisamari (56), Titus Amos (27), who leaves three children, and Habila Amos a 25-year-old father of one.
The militant herdsmen looted large quantities of foodstuffs in the raid and made off with livestock, as the residents of the Christian farming community fled for their lives. More than 1,000 villagers are taking refuge in nearby towns in “grim conditions”, under the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in the region.
Four others were reportedly killed in a third Fulani militant attack in the region, on the predominantly Christian village of Chawai village, on 23 April. The militants also razed 48 homes in the assault.
From Barnabas Fund contacts
