Armed Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians in Benue state on 24 August, following the earlier slaughter of five others in the same area earlier in the month, local sources have confirmed.
The attacks took place in Guma County, where as many as 200 Christians were massacred in June in Yelwata village. Residents reported that on 24 August, herdsmen ambushed believers working on their farms in Tse Orkpe, a predominantly Christian village. One victim, Mboi Toli, was a displaced Christian from Igyungu Aze, while another wounded farmer later died from gunshot injuries.
Villagers described the attackers as chasing farmers “like animals” and warned that key roads have been blocked by armed bandits who kill Christians travelling in the area. Intelligence reports also suggest Fulani militants are establishing camps near the border with Nasarawa state, preparing for further raids on Christian communities.
Earlier in August, Fulani gunmen killed two Christians in Uikpam village on the 13th, and three more in Yelwata on the 11th. Police said they engaged the attackers in a shootout but later discovered victims who had been ambushed on their farms.
Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has identified nine suspects involved in the June massacres, with two men already arrested and charged under anti-terrorism laws in Abuja.
While not all Fulani hold extremist views, reports highlight that radicalised Fulani militias are adopting strategies similar to Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), deliberately targeting Christians and their communities.
Christian leaders in Nigeria say the attacks are fuelled by attempts to seize land and impose Islam across the Middle Belt, where desertification has worsened grazing pressures.
Nigeria remains the most dangerous country in the world to be a Christian, according to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List. Of 4,476 believers killed globally during the reporting period, more than 3,100, nearly 70 per cent, were killed in Nigeria.
Adapted from reporting by Christian Daily International - Morning Star News.
