Nigerian Journalist Exposes Barbaric Massacres and Persecution of Christians

Devastation and Dehumanization in Northern Nigeria

• 💔 Christians in northern Nigeria, including indigenous locals, are facing devastation, degradation, and dehumanization.
• 🏠 They are being dispossessed, dislodged, and dislocated from their ancestral lands.

Fulani Herdsmen Attacks and Kidnapping

• 💰 Fulani herdsmen are engaging in widespread kidnapping, extorting millions of naira from families for ransom.
• ⛓️ Victims are subjected to brutalization, chaining, and starvation, with some forced to eat grasses and leaves.
• 👧 Girls are often raped, and men are brutalized during these attacks.

Persecution and Land Grabbing

• ✝️ The violence is described as persecution because they are Christians, coupled with a motive to grab their lands.
• 🗺️ Indigenous Christians in the north are not recognized by the government, creating a vulnerability exploited by extremist groups.
• 🚩 After attacks and displacement, Fulani groups occupy and rename the lands.

Scale and History of Violence

• 🗓️ These attacks have been noticeable since around 2015 under the Buhari administration.
• 💥 Southern Kaduna has experienced over 300 brutal attacks between 2016 and 2023, with villages wiped out.
• 🩸 In Benue state, 88 Christians were murdered in a single night in 2018, attributed by attackers to retaliation for killing their cattle.
• 🏘️ In Ukum County, Benue state, 72 persons were executed by Fulani herdsmen, and entire communities were displaced.
• 🔪 Attacks in Otoyaka, Benue state, resulted in 11 deaths, with victims slashed by machetes.

Media Silence and International Neglect

• 📰 Local Nigerian media often avoid reporting these massacres to avoid disfavor with the government, which may offer patronage.
• 🗣️ The Nigerian federal government downplays the events, labeling them as mere banditry or farmer-herder clashes, rather than ethnic cleansing or land grabbing.
• 🌍 The international community, particularly the United States, is criticized for its silence and lack of investigation into the ongoing atrocities, leading Nigerian Christians to feel totally abandoned.
• ⚠️ There is a fear of a gradual but brutal extermination of Christians if the world continues to ignore the situation.