Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians in Benue state, Nigeria, on August 24, following the slaughter of five others earlier in the month, according to sources.
All seven Christians lost their lives in Guma County, the same area where up to 200 Christians were killed during attacks on June 13-14 in Yelwata village.
In Tse Orkpe village, which is predominantly Christian, on August 24, “armed Fulani herdsmen” ambushed Christians working on their farms, said area resident Tivta Samuel Aondohemba.
The attacks coincided with intelligence reports indicating the presence of Fulani camps in border regions with Nasarawa state, said area resident Garshagu Atovigba.
“Intelligence gathered on the evening of Thursday, [Aug. 28], reveals that a significant number of suspected Fulani armed marauders were sighted at Tungwa Manja, a village in Doka District, Doma LGA of Nasarawa state,” Atovigba told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “It is believed that their target of attack is some Christian communities in Guma Local Government Area of Benue state.”
On August 13, during a herdsmen raid on Uikpam village in Guma County—an area mostly inhabited by Christians—two villagers were killed. The area resident Joseph Dugeri identified the victims as Francis Nomsoor and Kelvin.
Another resident, Daniel Ikpeme, said that herdsmen attacked Yelwata village again on August 11, killing three Christians. “This is a second of such attacks against Yelwata as an earlier attack on 13 June resulted in the death of more than 200 Christians,” Ikpeme said.
Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS), the country’s secret service, announced that it had identified nine terrorists who had attacked the Guma communities, with two of them already arrested.
Nigeria continues to be one of the most perilous countries for Christians, according to the 2025 World Watch List published by Open Doors, which details the most difficult places to practice Christianity worldwide. During the reporting period, 4,476 Christians were killed for their faith globally, with 3,100 (69%) of those deaths occurring in Nigeria.
“The measure of anti-Christian violence in the country is already at the maximum possible under World Watch List methodology,” the report stated. Nigeria ranked seventh on the 2025 WWL list of the 50 worst countries for Christians.
In Nigeria’s North-Central region, where Christians are more prevalent than in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militias frequently attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, primarily Christians, according to the report.
Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are active in the country’s northern states. In these areas, federal control is weak, and communities face raids, sexual violence, roadblock killings, and increased abductions for ransom, the report states.
The violence has extended into southern states, and a new jihadist terror group called Lakurawa has emerged in the northwest. Equipped with advanced weaponry, Lakurawa is driven by a radical Islamist agenda and is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), which originated in Mali.
