NIGERIA: 36 killed by extremists in weekend of terror
Dozens have died in a fresh wave of offensives on settlements in Nigeria’s Middle Belt by militant members of the Fulani herder community.
According to information from Makurdi Diocese received by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), 36 were killed, nine injured and two abducted in a series of attacks that occurred from 24th and 26th May.
The first attack occurred in Tse Orbiam, Gwer West Local Government Area (LGA).
Ori Hope Emmanuel of Makurdi Diocese’s Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace said: “On the evening of his return from a memorial service held in honour of two Catholic priests killed in 2018, Father Solomon Atongo of Jimba Parish, Makurdi Diocese, was shot in the left leg by armed assailants identified as Fulani-Jihadists.
“The two passengers accompanying him were abducted by the attackers. Father Atongo is currently receiving medical treatment.” The diocese has asked for prayers for his recovery.
Ms Emmanuel added: “At approximately the same time the priest was attacked, a local farmer who was an onlooker and had just concluded his day’s work was shot and killed on his farm by Fulani-Jihadists.”
In a statement Father Oliver Ortese, Chairman of the international Advisory Board for Makurdi Diocese, criticised the failure of security services to respond to the attack in Jimba.
“There is a military post where the Nigerian army personnel are kept by the government where this incident happened.
“This has left many questions on our minds? Were the soldiers sleep while these shootings by several Fulani are going on?”
The diocese reported that 20 people were killed the following day (25th May) in an attack on Aondona, Gwer West LGA.
Ms Emmanuel said: “Heavily armed Fulani-Jihadists reportedly opened fire indiscriminately, resulting in civilian casualties and triggering widespread panic and confusion.”
“Many residents fled their homes in search of safety. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, as search and recovery efforts continues.”
Another attack on Yelewata Village, Guma LGA saw three killed: “a father, a teenage son, and a two-year-old child while the wife sustained severe injuries.
“The incident followed an earlier assault on Mr Clement Awarga Kutar, a 67-year-old farmer, whose cassava farm was destroyed before he was brutally attacked and injured.”
Yesterday (26th May), militants returned to Tse Orbiam in the early hours of the morning, killing a five people.
Later that day six were killed in Ahume, Gwer West LGA. According to Ms Emmanuel “they indiscriminately shot at individuals, resulting in multiple fatalities, including the death of a Mobile Police Officer [a member of paramilitary branch of the police force] on special assignment in the area.”
In a final attack, on Naka-Adoka Road, Gwer West LGA, “Fulani-Jihadists carried out a coordinated attack targeting both residents and travellers along the road, opening fire indiscriminately”. Six people were injured and one killed.
Father Oliver Ortese added: “They are creating humanitarian crises as those who survive are moved into camps where they become beggars to eek out a living. You cannot imagine the reality we live in here
“This is horror, this is terror.”