Nigeria | July 12, 2024
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As reported by Vanguard on 13 June 2022, up to 15 Christians were killed and many buildings destroyed by fire on 12 June 2022 when ‘suspected armed herdsmen’ attacked the village of Igama in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State. Speaking to the press, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State stated (Daily Post, 14 June 2022): “When I started shouting about the menace of killer herdsmen in my State, many people thought I was playing to the gallery. Gradually, this has spread to all other parts of the country because the Federal Government has refused to act appropriately and decisively against them. This is the reason why they have continued with impunity.”
Frans Veerman, Managing Director of World Watch Research (WWR), comments: “For many years, Governor Ortom has been speaking publicly about the increasing threat to civilians caused by well-armed Fulani groups who are operating with precious little opposition from government forces. However, impunity for carrying out attacks on communities is now a major issue not just in Benue Sate but in the whole of the country. It has given the perpetrators a free hand, causing the Nigerian population immense suffering, in particular Christians and their churches and communities, as has been highlighted in WWR’s Full Country Dossier (WWR, January 2022, p.25).”
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