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ABUJA<\/strong>, Nigeria<\/strong>, January 24, 2024 (Christian Daily International<\/a>–<\/em>Morning Star News<\/a>) Photo Courtesy: \u00a9Getty Images\/Stockbyte<\/em><\/p>\n Originally published by Morning Star News. Used with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n LISTEN: Let Our Bible Study Expert Help You Start the New Year Right!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Have you ever chosen a word for the year? Whether you pick a word each year or never have before, I think this episode will help you order your life in the year to come. If you don’t know what your word is, today might be a great day for you to hear some of the things that we are promised in Christ that you in faith can claim for yourself for 2024. Keep in mind, each of these words requires faith.<\/p>\n
Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists attacked villages in Plateau state, Nigeria, at about 12:30 a.m. today (Jan. 24), killing at least 25 Christians, following the deaths of six others last week, area residents said.
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Thousands of people were displaced in the attacks in Mangu County that began on Monday (Jan. 22), residents said.
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\u201cMy village, Kwahaslalek, a Christian community, was attacked at about 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 24 January, by terrorists and herdsmen,\u201d Hosea Ibrahim told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News in a text message. \u201cThe invaders surrounded the village at about midnight, and they shot at anyone they sighted. Twenty-five Christians, who were mostly women and children, were killed during the attack.\u201d
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Sen. Diket Plang of Nigeria\u2019s parliament said in a statement today that the killings resulted from unprovoked attacks on innocent citizens. He called on \u201cthe armed forces and all security apparatus to live up to their sworn duty to protect the citizens of \u00a0Nigeria, and especially the people of Mangu LGA, at this trying moment.\u201d
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He urged authorities to investigate the attacks and ensure that the culprits face the full force of the law.
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\u201cJustice must prevail, and those responsible for these atrocities must be held accountable for their actions,\u201d Plang said.
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Alfred Alabo, spokesman for the Plateau State Command, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that the area was now under control and that police had been deployed to find the assailants.
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The attack was part of a coordinated assault that began on Monday (Jan. 22) on Mangu County\u2019s Kwahaslalek, Marian, and Kinat villages and the towns of Jakatai, Sabon Gari, and Mangu town, residents said.
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\u201cA friend\u2019s family, five members of his family, were killed and burnt beyond recognition in Mangu on Tuesday, 23 January,\u201d a resident identified only as Murphy told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. \u201cThe wicked will never stop unless they have reasons to think twice before attacking. These are not random attacks, but well-coordinated to exterminate Christians.\u201d
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Plateau state officials had imposed a curfew on Tuesday (Jan. 23) in the Mangu area in an attempt to curb such attacks.
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Killings in Bokkos<\/strong>
In Bokkos County, Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists on Jan. 17 killed six Christians in raids on the predominantly Christian villages of Butura Kampani and Gada, residents said. The attacks occurred simultaneously at about 10 a.m. and lasted until about 3 p.m.
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Pastor Ayuba Matawal said the assailants ambushed five Christians in Butura Kampani and shot them to death.
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\u201cThe attackers, who include Muslim terrorists and Fulani herdsmen, carried out the attacks against the Christian community for about 10 hours,\u201d Pastor Matawal told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. \u201cSome of the victims were attacked as they were heading to their farms to harvest their crops.\u201d
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Another Christian was ambushed and shot dead at Gada village area by another band of terrorists and Fulani herdsmen, he said.
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\u201cThe second incident occurred at Gada village, where a Christian farmer was shot and killed by the terrorists and Fulani herdsmen while the farmer was working on his farm,\u201d Matawal said.
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Since Christmas Eve, such attacks have driven about 19,000 people from their homes, said Pastor Matawal, who provides aid at camps for the internally displaced. He appealed for aid as the needs were overwhelming.
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Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, according to Open Doors\u2019 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, with 3,300.
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Nigeria was also the third highest country in the number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings, such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with 750, according to the report.
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In the 2024 WWL of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria was ranked No. 6, as it was in the previous year.
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Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom\u2019s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report<\/a>.
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\u201cThey adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,\u201d the APPG report states.
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Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen’s attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria\u2019s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians\u2019 lands and impose Islam, as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.
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