Christians decry 9-day massacre that killed 48 in Nigeria

Christian leaders in Nigeria are decrying the recent attacks committed by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Plateau state that resulted in the deaths of at least 48 people.

According to Morning Star News, Fulani herdsmen began the assaults on Oct. 8 on Nkie Dongwro village, and the massacre went uninterrupted until Oct. 17. The attacks reportedly occurred during dusk-to-dawn curfews and with security forces stationed nearby.

In addition to the killings, nine people were injured and 249 homes were destroyed in the attacks on 13 Christian villages.

"All Christians in villages around here have been displaced, and worship buildings have been abandoned. Some of the church buildings were destroyed by the attackers," said Dauda Samuel Kadiya of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Zanwrua.

Morning Star News noted that the nine-day assault was carried out on the villages of Hukke, Kpachudu, Nzhweruvo, Tafigana, Rikwe Chongu, Taegbe, Zanwrua, Nchetahu, Chuvorivireh, Aribakwa, Nshuariba, Arichaka, and Nkie Dongwro.

Local Christian leaders have noted that the armed herdsmen that carried out the attacks were apparently accompanied by terrorists from Islamic extremist groups.

"In the past few weeks, our people have been attacked by Muslim Fulani herdsmen who are collaborating with armed terrorists to invade our communities. These attacks are being carried out daily. Every blessed day we witness the invasion, killing of our people, and the destruction of their houses," said Moses Tsohu, a Zanwrua village leader and ECWA member.

Yakubu Pam, northern chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has called on Nigeria's federal government to intervene before the herdsmen launch more attacks on minority ethnic group in the northern part of the country.

In a media statement released on Oct. 17, Pam decried the assault in the Bassa local government where the assailants attacked women, children and the elderly as they slept.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), a grassroots non-governmental organization, had reiterated its call to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to declare armed Fulani herdsmen as terrorists.

"We condemn in very strong terms the persistent denial of the reality of the armed Fulani terror campaign across the country by the current administration of President Buhari," the group said in an Oct. 17 blog post, according to Baptist Press.

The group asserted that the government has "failed to take concrete, verifiable and legal based actions to put to an end to the spectacles of blood curdling terror attacks of armed Fulani herdsmen." It also accused the Nigerian president of lacking the determination to stop the armed herdsmen because of his Fulani heritage.

As early as 2014, Fulani herdsmen have been designated as terrorist in the Global Terrorism Index. The herdsmen have been blamed for nearly 1,250 deaths that year alone, a significant rise from the 80 deaths they were blamed for in 2013.