Military Emergency Sought as Herdsmen Kill 86 Christians in Benue State, Nigeria

Funeral for Christians killed on June 1, 2025 in Ankali, Edikwu Ankpali, Apa County, Benue state, Nigeria. (Screenshot of video)

ABUJA, Nigeria (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News)  – A prominent attorney petitioned Nigeria’s president to declare a military emergency as Fulani herdsmen killed at least 86 people in predominantly Christian areas of Benue state in the past two weeks, including 46 on Sunday (June 1), sources said.

Sebastine Hon, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), a prestigious designation conferred upon recommendation of the Nigerian Bar Association, wrote to President Bola Tinubu on Monday (June 2), demanding immediate measures to halt the growing bloodshed in his native Benue state.

“The security situation in my state, however, is VERY FAST slipping out of hand,” Hon wrote. “From the above abridged narration of the unfortunate developments in Benue state, it is MOST IMPERATIVE that a state of military emergency be declared by Mr. President in the state.”

The deplorable security situation in Benue state compelled him in late May to write to leaders of the military and police calling for action, he wrote.

“I personally wrote a joint letter to the Chief of Defense Staff, the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of State Security Services, detailing the failings of the military and paramilitary operations in the state,” Hon wrote. “Till date, nothing has been done, as is clearly evident from recent ugly happenings in the State, about the situation.”

In predominantly Christian Gwer West County, Fulani herdsmen killed at least 68 people over the past two weeks, including 18 slain on Sunday (June 1) in Tse Antswam, on the outskirts of Naka town, residents and community leaders said.

Community leader Daniel Abomtse said the assailants were Fulani herdsmen.

“On Sunday, 18 Christians were killed in Tse Antswam village. Some were shot, while others were slaughtered, and houses burned,” Abomtse said.

Victor Ormini, chairman of the Gwer West Local Government Council, sent a distressed text message to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.

“A week ago, over 40 Christians were killed in our local government area, and again, we’re seeing the killing of additional Christians,” Ormini said. “So far, 14 corpses of Christians killed in Naka alone have been recovered. Yet, many Christians are still missing.”

Area residents in response to inquiries from Christian Daily International-Morning Star News said the attacks occurred on May 27.

In his letter to President Tinubu, Hon chronicled attacks that took place while the military and other security agencies stood by.

“On May 29, 2025, Agan community, right in Makurdi city, the state capital, was attacked in broad daylight,” Hon wrote. “Even though there is a military barracks in the same North Bank, no soldier was deployed to arrest the situation.”

On Sunday (June 1) in Naka, site of the Gwer West Local Government headquarters, and the Edikwu-Ankpali community in Apa Local Area came under deadly attacks, resulting in several fatalities, he wrote. On May 24, the Rev. Solomon Atongo was attacked on his way from Makurdi to Naka.

“The scene was just about 500 meters from a military checkpoint; but none of the soldiers at the checkpoint came to his rescue until the attackers left him for dead,” Hon wrote. “He is lucky to be alive today.”

On Saturday (May 31), Catholic priests accused the military of complicity, publicly stating that the church has lost priests and congregation members and has closed more than 15 parishes in the state, Hon noted.

“The attackers always come in the numbers on motorcycles,” Hone wrote. “Meanwhile, there are several military checkpoints along the roads! Where and how, if I may ask, do those murderers pass to the points of attack and back to their newly-acquired ‘bases’?”

Police in Benue state said tactical teams had been deployed to the Naka and Apa areas.

Unprecedented Attacks in Apa

The herdsmen attacks in Apa County were unprecedented, killing at least 28 Christians on Sunday (June 1), sources said.

Residents of Edikwu Ankpali and Opaha villages said the attacks took place at about 6 p.m., shortly after Christians returned from Sunday evening worship services.

“A mass burial has been held for 28 Christians of Benue state who were brutally killed by armed herdsmen in Ankali, Edikwu Ankpali community, located in the Apa Local Government Area,” resident George Daniel told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News in a text message. “Several Christians were also reportedly abducted during the attacks.”

Resident Tony Adikwu said more than 28 Christians were killed in the attack on Edikwu Ankpali.

“And most of the displaced Christians at Edikwu Ankpali are currently taking refuge at Odugbo village, another Christian community,” Adikwu said.

Predominantly Christian Opaha village was also attacked on Sunday (June 1), said John Ikwulono, a former official of the Apa Local Government Council. Adams Ocheiga, chairman of the Apa Local Government Council, confirmed attacks on Christians in the area.

“It’s true that some Christian communities in our area are currently under attacks by armed Fulani herdsmen,” Ocheiga told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “The attention of police authorities, the military, and the Benue state government has been drawn to these unpleasant situations. We hope something will be done soon in order to avert more of such evil attacks.”

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’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report.

“They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.

Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.

Nigeria remained among the most dangerous places on earth for Christians, according to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Of the 4,476 Christians killed for their faith worldwide during the reporting period, 3,100 (69 percent) were in Nigeria, according to the WWL.

“The measure of anti-Christian violence in the country is already at the maximum possible under World Watch List methodology,” the report stated.

In the country’s North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militia attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, Christians above all, according to the report. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the country’s northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings, according to the report. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years.

The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, the WWL noted. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali.

Nigeria ranked seventh on the 2025 WWL list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

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