Nigeria’s Christian community has been rocked yet again by a vicious assault at the hands of the Islamic Fulani militants, just three days after 16 believers were gunned down after a child’s dedication service.
What happened in this latest attack?
According to International Christian Concern (ICC), the most recent attack occurred on April 17 in Adamawa State and resulted in four deaths.
It was around 10:30 p.m. when the militants struck the predominantly Christian Bolon village, firing indiscriminately with automatic weapons. In addition to the four fatalities, six others were severely injured.
Brave villagers tried to fight back
Witnesses to the attack say that some of the brave Bolon villagers attempted to repel the attack by any means possible.
“An older man went to his backyard… and saw the attackers coming,” a local resident told ICC. “The old man quickly went back and alerted the villagers of imminent danger while the attackers advanced very fast. Some of the villagers were able to flee, while some of the brave men tried to resist and repel the attackers.”
One of the young men in the village said that they were able to capture one of the attackers.
“They were definitely Fulani militia, because we chased them away and were able to kill one of them,” he recalled.
In addition to opening fire on innocent civilians, the cowardly attackers also burned down around 100 homes and several food storage barns. Two of those who died were an elderly couple who became trapped in their home when it was ignited.
Also among the dead was a 13-year-old girl.
Silence from the mainstream media
While the media have engaged in coverage of the recent Sri Lanka bombings, the level of column inches given to the issue of global Christian persecution is next to nothing.
Despite these relentlessly savage attacks on Nigerian Christians in particular, the media continue to turn a blind eye, with others even criticizing the outlets who are devoted to covering this important issue.
As Faithwire’s Carly Hoilman noted recently, an “eerie hush has fallen over the media regarding the ongoing mass slaughter of Christians in Nigeria,” revealing something of our news culture’s “inconsistency in reporting instances of religious persecution.”
It’s time to pray for the persecuted Church, speak up about this issue and call the media to more extensive coverage of these brutal attacks.