by Luke Booker, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Following the massacre of over 60 Christians in Plateau State earlier this month, a fresh dawn attack today (April 14) on another predominantly Christian community has claimed at least 51 lives, according to Morning Star News (MSN).
Muslim Fulani herdsmen launched an early morning attack on Zikke village in the Kwall District of Bassa County on Monday, according to resident Blessing Yakubu.
“Over 40 Christians have [been] killed in a fresh attack which occurred in Zikke village of Kwall district in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau state,” Yakubu said in a text message to MSN. The death toll was updated later to 51.
On Friday (April 11), suspected herdsmen killed three members of a family in the predominantly Christian village of Zogu in Miango District, Bassa County. The victims included a father and his two sons.
Earlier that week, on Tuesday night (April 8), herdsmen also raided three predominantly Christian villages in Bassa, killing two people.
“Barely 24 hours after we laid to rest our beloved brethren of Hwrra village killed by Fulani militias, these same herdsmen have launched three separate deadly attacks on our communities on the night of April 8,” said Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, a community leader told MSN.
“These attacks are part of a disturbing trend of violence and destruction of farm crops that has plagued the area for years,” said Yonkpa.
“We are deeply concerned about the silence of state actors, the lack of condemnation, and the absence of intervention or visitation to our people,” he added. “We are particularly worried about the lack of action taken to arrest the perpetrators of these heinous crimes as they continue to kill our people on daily basis.”
He said residents remain committed to seeking justice, peace, and security despite the ongoing violence.
“We equally charge our people to intensify vigilance as our attackers have not shown any sign to stop their atrocities in our land,” Yonkpa said.
Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, the predominantly Muslim Fulani are made up of hundreds of clans from diverse lineages, some of whom do not hold extremist views. However, some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, according to a 2020 report by the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG).
In the 2025 Open Doors World Watch List, Nigeria is ranked 7th among the countries where Christians face the most severe persecution.
Despite intense persecution, the gospel continues to advance in Nigeria. Over the last twenty years, Christianity has grown steadily—from around 40% of the population in 2001 to nearly 50% today. In raw numbers, the Christian population has risen from an estimated 60 million in 2000 to about 96 million in 2020, with projections pointing to over 155 million by 2050.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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