![\"Plateau](\"https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Plateau-Baptist-Conference-President-Koeleh-Kelvin-Saleh.-Christian-Daily-International-Morning-Star-News.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPlateau Baptist Conference President Koeleh Kelvin Saleh. (Christian Daily International-Morning Star News)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
ABUJA<\/strong>, Nigeria<\/strong>\u00a0(Christian Daily International<\/a>\u2013<\/em>Morning Star News<\/a>) \u2013 Recent Muslim extremist attacks in an area of central Nigeria resulted in dozens of deaths and the closure of 10 Baptist churches, including one now used as a mosque, a denominational leader said.<\/p>\n The attacks in Plateau state\u2019s Mangu County by Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists included an assault on one village that killed 24 Christians, said Plateau Baptist Conference President Koeleh Kelvin Saleh. The raids drove 500 church members from 10 villages and resulted in the closure of a Baptist church in each community, he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOne of the church worship places in the affected Christian communities was converted into a mosque by the Muslim Fulani herdsmen who took over three communities,\u201d Pastor Saleh told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.<\/p>\n An attack by herdsmen in Kantoma village on May 16 resulted in the slaughter of 24 members of Bethel Baptist Church, including Pastor Mangmwos Tangshak Daniel, while nine members of a Baptist church in Jwak Maitumbi village were killed, Pastor Saleh said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sad thing is that, we didn\u2019t have a place to bury the corpses of our church members killed in the Kantoma attack, and so corpses were dumped in a mining pit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Officials feared that burying so many mutilated bodies would lead to further security threats, so church leader arranged for a mass burial in a neighboring area, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAn understanding was brokered with the Mararaban Kantoma community, which is of another local government area, for these bodies to buried there,\u201d Pastor Saleh said. \u201cNobody was ready to release his land for such, and in fact the bodies littered the ground from morning to evening, and so when they searched and found a mining pit, an agreement was brokered with the community to push the bodies into the mining pit.\u201d<\/p>\n The burial of Pastor Daniel\u2019s body was carried out separately afterward, \u201cso that it can be used as a contact from his family to other families who hadn\u2019t the opportunity to give the Christian rites of burial to their relations, because they were just pushed into a mining pit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mass burial was undertaken under tight security watch. It\u2019s so pathetic that while the burial was ongoing, the Muslim Fulani herdsmen were shooting at Christians at the burial site,\u201d he added. \u201cThe presence of police personnel who were at the burial site helped, because they also fired warning shots, which halted the attacks from the herdsmen.\u201d<\/p>\n The burial was completed hurriedly because of the herdsmen shootings, Pastor Saleh said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Christians there lost a lot; the church was destroyed, and there\u2019s no single house standing in Kantoma \u2013 all houses of Christians have been destroyed,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the communities where we had the largest Baptist church. The ruins of the community have been taken over by the herdsmen who now use the place to graze their cattle.\u201d<\/p>\n The herdsmen have also stolen windows and doors from destroyed homes, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation in Kantoma is horrible. Christians who survived the attacks have nowhere to return to,\u201d he said. \u201cA few Christians who attempted to return there to salvage anything they can find in their destroyed houses had to be accompanied by security agents. And this they did hurriedly.\u201d<\/p>\n Accompanied by security agents, Pastor Saleh and other Christian leaders visited the affected areas and discovered that Fulani herdsmen had taken over three Christian communities, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, one of the church buildings which served as a worship hall for Christians has been converted into a mosque,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Humanitarian Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n The attacks have created a serious humanitarian challenge to try to meet the needs of church members scattered to other areas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had an emergency meeting of the Plateau Baptist Conference in order to map out how we\u2019ll be able to reach out to the displaced Christians,\u201d Pastor Saleh said.\u00a0\u201cAt the moment other unaffected churches have taken in the displaced Christians, and they\u2019re accommodated by some families and households.\u201d<\/p>\n The denomination has held emergency fund collections in churches for the displaced, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had to do this because most of the victims escaped with nothing except their lives,\u201d Pastor Saleh said. \u201cRight now, we have about 75 families hosting the displaced members from the affected communities in their houses here in Jos. There are about 200 displaced people being\u00a0cared for.\u201d<\/p>\n Baptist churches also raised 2 million naira (2,220USD), which along with a 1 million naira (1,110USD) gift was used to purchase food, blankets and mats for more than 100 displaced people in Mangu town and in other areas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have also gone there and reached out to them with food items and clothing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Another center for displaced Baptist members in Barkin Ladi town provides aid to 35 families, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Pankshin, the situation there is really pathetic \u2013 those who were displaced had to move into hostels at the Federal College of Education,\u201d Pastor Saleh said.<\/p>\n The 78 displaced people there include members of other denominations such as the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) and Assemblies of God.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Christians in Pankshin are those displaced from the axis of Wokshina, Panyam, and Gindiri areas,\u201d he said, adding that the camp there includes 44 children.\u00a0\u201cThey need food, clothing, medical supplies and medicines. The needs are overwhelming, as the 3 million naira we raised is like a drop of water in an ocean. We are calling on spirited individuals all over the world to please come over to assist us. The sad reality is that no government institution has assisted these people in anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n The displaced hope to return to their communities and rebuild their houses, for which they\u2019ll need roofing sheets and other materials, but that depends on whether government can restore a safe living environment, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve never as a church had it this bad in Plateau state,\u201d Pastor Saleh said. \u201cThe current attacks in Plateau state in the rural communities have affected the Baptist church immensely.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Nigeria was also the third highest country in number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with 750, according to the report.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u00a0report<\/a>.<\/p>\n \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.<\/p>\n Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen 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.<\/p>\n If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/resources\/aid-agencies\/<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/donate\/<\/em><\/a>?<\/em><\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n \u00a9 2024 Morning Star News. 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