Originally published in My Christian Daily

More than 200 Christian civilians, including children and the elderly, were killed in coordinated attacks carried out by armed Fulani militants in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, just before and after the country’s Democracy Day holiday.

According to International Christian Concern, the attacks, which spanned from the evening of June 11 through the early hours of June 13, struck Christian farming communities in Plateau and Benue states.

On the evening of Wednesday, June 11 — just hours before the public holiday — Fulani militants ambushed a group of Christian farmers in Rigwe Chiefdom, Bassa County, Plateau state. According to local sources, four victims, including a 9-month-old infant, were killed near Nkiedonwro village as they were returning from their farms with harvested vegetables.

The victims, identified as Musa Chega, 40, Gali, 43, Uhwie Emmanuel, 25, and her infant daughter, Mary Emmanuel, were attacked with machetes. Two other villagers sustained severe injuries. The farmers were reportedly headed to the Jos Vegetable Market before being intercepted on the road.

Only two days later, in the early hours of June 13, heavily armed militants conducted another deadly assault in Yelwata, a predominantly Christian farming settlement in Guma County of Benue state, which borders Nasarawa state. The attack lasted from around 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., and 200 people were feared dead, according to community reports.

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) were among the victims. Many had fled earlier violence in Nasarawa and Benue and were sheltering in stalls and lock-up shops at Yelwata market. Witnesses said attackers poured gasoline on the shops and set them ablaze, killing entire families who had taken refuge inside.

Matthew Mnyam, a former state education official and community leader in Yelwata, confirmed the scale of the destruction.

“Some families were completely wiped out,” he said. “A man, his two wives, and all their children were burned alive. It was a well-coordinated assault from both eastern and western flanks of the community.”

In a related incident that same night, suspected militants also attacked a military post near Daudu town, killing at least two soldiers. Earlier reports suggested up to five soldiers may have died, though the Nigerian Army has not confirmed the exact number.

According to Leadership News, Benue State Police confirmed the attack but declined to provide a death toll, stating investigations were ongoing.

“Our tactical teams responded swiftly, and some of the attackers were neutralized,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Sewuese Edet said. She added that several civilians were killed and wounded in the attack.

In recent weeks, Fulani militias have shifted tactics, launching broad daylight ambushes on farmers in Plateau state. According to the Miango Youth Development Association (MYDA), a series of ambushes and killings occurred in Rigwe land between June 3 and June 9, resulting in at least 10 fatalities and multiple injuries.

Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, national publicity secretary of the Irigwe Youth Movement, warned that such ambushes often precede larger massacres.

“Before the Zike massacre last year that killed 54 people, there were two weeks of daily ambushes,” he said. He added that recent intelligence suggests that Nkien-whie, Miango, and Teegbe districts are currently being targeted.

A data report compiled by the Rural Youth Integral Support Initiative (RUYISI) shows that 65 communities in Irigwe Chiefdom have been attacked by Fulani militants between 2001 and 2023, with some villages struck multiple times. The highest spike occurred in 2021 when 44 communities were attacked in a single year.

The growing pattern of impunity has raised concerns among civil society and local leaders who accuse security forces of delayed or passive responses. In the case of Yelwata, local sources say security personnel stationed nearby failed to intervene during the two-hour onslaught.

Many of the recent victims were Christian subsistence farmers, forced to flee their ancestral homes only to be attacked again in makeshift shelters. The attacks came during the national celebration of Democracy Day, a public holiday commemorating Nigeria’s return to democratic rule.

These incidents mark one of the bloodiest weeks in Nigeria’s Middle Belt this year.

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