Dozens Of Christians Killed In Nigeria’s Christmas Season Attacks (Worthy News Focus)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ABUJA (Worthy News) – Investigators demanded Friday that Nigeria’s government ends “the reign of terror” against Christian communities after scores of Christians were killed by Islamic fighters in the last days of 2024.
Nearly 50 Nigerian Christians were killed in a series of attacks across the mainly Muslim African nation during the week of Christmas, sources told Worthy News.
The violence included an attack on Sunday, December 22, in a village within Nigeria’s Plateau State where believers gathered to celebrate the season by singing carols, according to Christians.
“As they were leaving, a group of armed Fulani militants opened fire, killing 14 of the attending Christians, including a pregnant woman and a one-year-old child,” confirmed advocacy group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC), which closely follows the situation.
In a series of separate attacks, “Christmas Day became a nightmare for five other Christian communities in the state of Benue,” as dozens were killed there, VOMC told Worthy News.
Islamic “Invaders entered the villages of Anwase, Ubutu, Tse Azege, Nyiev-ya, and Ityuluv, setting fire to homes and killing approximately 33 people,” the group said.
DEVASTATING RAIDS
“In the wake of the devastating raids, which resulted in several deaths and the destruction of many properties, the members of these communities have been left reeling,” VOMC added.
In remarks shared with Worthy News, a resident from Anwase, who wasn’t identified for security reasons, stated that the assault “left the community in shock and mourning.”
These attacks are reminiscent of violence in Plateau State during the 2023 Christmas season, resulting in the fatalities of more than 140 citizens, Christians recalled.
VOMC said Nigeria’s governmental forces needed to take increased action against the horrific destruction caused by militant groups, bringing an end to the reign of indiscriminate terror across large areas of the nation.”
The group urged its supporters to “Pray for greatly needed peace, comfort, and encouragement on behalf of all those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones as a result of these brutal attacks.”
It was also important to pray for “meeting the spiritual, practical, physical and emotional needs of those who were injured, or have lost their homes, properties and/or livelihoods” in the attacks, VOMC said.
BROADER PATTERN
The Christmas season violence is part of a broader pattern of violence against Christians in large parts of the African nation where thousands of believers have been killed in recent years, Worthy News documented.
Nigeria is the deadliest nation for Christians, replacing the totalitarian state of North Korea, according to the latest annual report by humanitarian nonprofit group Global Christian Relief.
Global Christian Relief released its “2025 Red List” of the most dangerous countries for Christians this week, using verified data to document killings, arrests, forced displacements, and attacks on property.
Over the past two years, Nigeria has become the most intolerant environment for Christians, with nearly 10,000 believers killed primarily by extremist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State affiliates, according to Christian investigators.
“Christians in Nigeria, particularly in the Muslim-majority north, continue to live under immense pressure and to be terrorized with devastating impunity by Islamic militants and armed ‘bandits,’” explained researchers of advocacy group Open Doors.
“More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria each year than everywhere else in the world combined,” the group noticed. “The attacks are often brutal in nature and can involve destruction of properties, abductions for ransom, sexual violence, and death. Believers are stripped of their livelihoods and driven from their homes, leaving a trail of grief and trauma,” Open Doors added.
Anti-Chtistian violence has often been linked to Islamic extremist groups such as Fulani militants, Boko Haram, and ISWAP (Islamic State in West African Province). The government’s failure to protect Christians and punish perpetrators has only strengthened the militants’ influence, according to human rights activists.
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