Nigeria’s Christian Communities Face Escalating Violence as Two More Farmers Killed in Benue State Attack

Latest deadly assault in Otabi-Alpa village continues pattern of targeted violence against Christian farming communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt region

By Michael D. Butler

May 26, 2025 – The relentless cycle of violence against Nigeria’s Christian communities has claimed two more lives, as Fulani herdsmen killed two Christian farmers on May 7 in Otabi-Alpa village, Benue state, according to local government officials. This latest attack follows the killing of 10 other Christians in the same area just one month prior, highlighting the escalating crisis facing religious minorities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.

The tragic incident, reported by a local government council member to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, represents just the latest chapter in what international observers are increasingly recognizing as a systematic campaign of violence against Nigeria’s Christian population.

A Pattern of Targeted Violence

The May 7 killings in Benue state are part of a broader pattern of violence that has devastated Christian communities across northern and central Nigeria. According to data from the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), more than 62,000 Christians have been killed by Islamist groups since 2000, with over 8,000 of those deaths occurring in 2023 alone.

The violence has been particularly concentrated in states like Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, and Borno, where entire villages have been destroyed, churches burned, and families forced to flee their ancestral homes. Christian farming communities have become primary targets for Fulani militias, who often combine religious extremism with land acquisition motives.

Beyond the Headlines: A Humanitarian Crisis

The human cost of this violence extends far beyond the immediate casualties. Since 2000, approximately 18,000 churches and 2,200 Christian schools have been destroyed, while over five million Christians have been displaced from their homes. Many survivors now live in overcrowded internally displaced persons (IDP) camps with inadequate resources and limited prospects for return.

“Millions of Christians are displaced here. News doesn’t cover it. Politicians, they don’t talk about it. Governments don’t talk about it. We are remaining in the darkness. As if we have been rejected,” explains Barnabas, a pastor and father of five from Benue State who has been living in a makeshift tent with his family for five years after surviving an attack that killed his brother and sister-in-law.

The Complex Nature of the Conflict

While some international media and government officials have characterized the violence as primarily resource-based conflicts between farmers and herders, Open Doors International research indicates a clear religious dimension to many attacks.

“There is good reason to believe that most of the violence has a religious dimension because of the activities of radical Islamist groups,” says Illia Djadi, Open Doors’ senior analyst on freedom of religion and belief in sub-Saharan Africa. “They have a strong Islamic ideology. It’s clearly an Islamic insurgency and they have a clear plan to establish a caliphate: an Islamic state ruled by Islamic law.”

The targeting is often deliberate and systematic. Recent attacks in Plateau state on May 14 left eight Christians dead, predominantly children and elderly residents, while simultaneously destroying over 740 acres of farmland near harvest time—a form of economic warfare designed to force communities into destitution.

Government Response Raises Concerns

Local leaders and survivors frequently report that security forces have been either ineffective or, in some cases, seemingly complicit in allowing attacks to continue. Farmers describe situations where they are arrested when livestock dies, but no action is taken when their homes are burned and their families killed.

“The military sides with them. We are arrested when a cow dies, but no one is held accountable when they burn our homes and destroy our food,” reported Sunday Tanko, a farmer whose crops were recently destroyed in Plateau state.

Ezekiel Bini, National Leader of the Irigwe Youth Movement, echoed these concerns: “Our people are imprisoned without justice, yet no one faces consequences for burning our villages.”

International Response and Advocacy

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has repeatedly recommended that Nigeria be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” for severe violations of religious freedom, though this designation has not been consistently maintained by the U.S. State Department.

International advocacy organizations like Open Doors and International Christian Concern (ICC) continue to document and report on the violence, calling for increased international attention and intervention.

The Human Stories Behind the Statistics

Behind each statistic lies a human story of loss and resilience. Abraham, another survivor from Benue state, lost his brother David and seven others when Fulani militants attacked his village three years ago. Despite advance warning that allowed families to evacuate, the men who stayed to protect their homes paid with their lives.

“They tried opening his door, but discovered it was locked from the inside, so they broke the door. My brother stood up to support the door from the inside; the killers shot him through the door,” Abraham recalls. “He came outside then they shot him in the head.”

Now living in an IDP camp, Abraham’s children cannot attend school because the family lost their farm—their source of income for tuition fees. “My children have been unable to go to school because I no longer farm,” he explains. “Being in this camp, we have been greatly limited.”

A Call for Action

Local leaders are urgently calling for international intervention before more communities face complete erasure. “This is organized, premeditated violence,” said Dr. Joshua Riti, local administrator of Bassa County. “If nothing is done, Christian communities like the Irigwe may be erased from the map.”

The international community’s response options include:

• Reinstating Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern
• Establishing UN Human Rights Council investigations
• Providing increased humanitarian aid to IDP camps
• Supporting specialized counterterrorism efforts
• Implementing conditional aid programs tied to human rights improvements

Supporting Affected Communities

For those seeking to support Nigeria’s persecuted Christian communities, organizations like Open Doors, International Christian Concern, and Voice of the Martyrs provide channels for donations, advocacy, and prayer support.

The continuing violence in places like Otabi-Alpa village serves as a stark reminder that Nigeria’s Christian communities remain under severe threat. Without sustained international attention and concrete action, the cycle of violence that claimed two more lives on May 7 will likely continue, leaving more families shattered and communities destroyed.

As survivors like Barnabas and Abraham demonstrate remarkable resilience in the face of unimaginable loss, they deserve more than the world’s silent sympathy—they deserve action, advocacy, and hope for a future where they can practice their faith and raise their families in safety.

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