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Fulani militants have slaughtered over a dozen Christians, including children at an infant dedication service in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Morning Star News reports that the attack took place on Palm Sunday as Christians in the predominantly Christian community gathered to eat after the child was dedicated that morning at Ruhaniya Baptist Church in the village. Fulani militants stormed the party and opened fire indiscriminately, killing 17 which included the life of the baby’s mother, Safaratu John Kabiru Ali, along with several others, some of whom were children as young as 10. The baby’s father, John Kabiru Ali, was also critically injured as a result of gunshot wounds. A local resident revealed that among those killed were, “10 members of the Ruhaniya Baptist Church, five members of Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ, one member of the Evangelical Church Winning All, and a musician playing for guests.” Chairman of the Akwanga Local Government Council, Samuel Meshi said the group of Christians did nothing to provoke the horrific attack. “They just started shooting sporadically on a community that was just having a feast of the dedication of a child after a church service earlier in the day on Sunday (April 14) at a Baptist church in the area. “The killings occurred in the evening of that day. Unfortunately, these persons were killed in cold blood for just no reason.” The Chairman noted. Pastor Samson Gamu Yare, community leader of the Mada ethnic group in Nasarawa state, described the killings as “barbaric”, calling on the federal government to urgently take measures toward curtailing the menace of extremist herdsmen attacks on his people. The Punch reveals that the governor of Narasawa State, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, has demanded that the perpetrators be apprehended immediately. “This is something we are going to take seriously. We are going to have a Security Council meeting and I have already directed security operatives to ensure that they fish out these people and bring them to book.” Al-Makura said Major General Adeyemi Yekini subsequently announced his strategy to track and arrest those involved in the attack. “I have directed my troops to move to Akwanga and join other security forces to track down the perpetrators of this crisis; let us apprehend them so that justice can be done.” General Yekini said.
By: Anne Clement Bassey