Pastor Killed by Suspected Fulani Herdsmen
2/3/2021 Nigeria (International Christian Concern)- Pastor Amos Arijesuyo was shot and killed when suspected Fulani Militants ambushed his vehicle while on route from Ibadan to Akure.
“His vehicle ran into an ambush laid by herdsmen who were operating on the road around 5:30 p.m.,” Adegbenro Adebanjo, university deputy director of corporate communications, said in a press statement. “The herdsmen shot sporadically at the vehicle, targeting the five occupants, and unfortunately some of the bullets hit Dr. Arijesuyo and the driver.”
The driver was able to escape the ambush and seek medical help. Unfortunately, Pastor Arijesuyo succumbed to the fatal gunshot wounds.
02/01/2021
Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – Halima Ali Maiyanga, one of the many Chibok girls taken by Boko Haram in 2014, was able to escape the group just last week. She was able to call her family on Thursday Night while she was with the military. According to Halima, she was one of hundreds who was able to escape when the military conducted an operation in the Sambisa Forest. “Halima was in tears. She told us she was with the military and needed some clothes because she had nothing,” her brother Muhammad Maiyanga told the Wall Street Journal. “We never thought we’d see her again.”
01/28/2021
Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – The spokesperson of the Edo State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mrs Bridget Esene, was kidnapped from her church building on January 24. She was held by her kidnappers for two days before the police were able to find and rescue her. In recent interviews, Mrs. Esene stated that she noticed her attackers following her on January 24
th. She then ran to her local church for refuge. While in the church, the gunmen held her at gunpoint and made her leave with them.
She said that she was taken into the nearby forest and then sold to other kidnappers that she believed to be Fulani herders. She was then held by the herders until police came to rescue her. It is unclear why she was taken. It may have been a political abduction. It may have been religiously motivated as she was in a church. Most likely however, it was the act of criminals looking to get a ransom for her.
01/27/2021
Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – Fulani militants have been conducting attacks and causing mass devastation throughout the Middle Belt of Nigeria for many years. These attacks have increased over the past several years though. Increasing violence in Kaduna, Plateau and Benue States has caused millions of people to be displaced. More recently, these attacks have begun to spread further south in the country.
Oyo State, in Nigeria’s Southeast, is several hundred miles south of the Middle Belt states where attack have become super common. Despite this, reports are being made that militants have invaded Oyo as well. The Convener of the Igangan Development Advocates, Mr Oladiran Oladokun, spoke to the Punch Nigeria about the attacks in Oyo State. He says that the militants have displaced many farmers from their land, as well as “o
Professor Returns After Abduction in Nigeria
01/22/2021 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – Nigeria leads the world in abductions and ransom demands, especially of Christians. Christian Professor John Fatokun experienced this first hand on January 18, traveling from Jos to Nasarawa state.
On hearing of the professor’s plight, a church stemming from the university’s Deeper Life Christian Ministry paid his full ransom of 20 million nairas ($52,000), allowing Professor Fatokun to be released within 48 hours.
Although he was unable to identify his captors, there is a strong possibility they were Fulani herdsmen. The conflict between Muslim herdsmen and Christian farmers is the source of many attacks and kidnappings.