Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists killed more than 30 Christians in an attack on a predominantly Christian village in Nigeria’s Kaduna state which began late on Saturday night.
Local residents said herdsmen alongside other armed terrorists invaded Runji village in Zangon Kataf County at about 10pm. The attack continued into the early hours of Sunday morning.
‘Please pray for us … as 33 Christians were killed by herdsmen and terrorists in the early hours of Sunday,‘ resident Mugu Zakka Bako said in a text message to Morning Star News.
Rev Jacob Kwashi, bishop of the Anglican diocese of Zonkwa, Kaduna state, presided over the mass burial of the Christians.
‘In the past seven and a half years, we in southern Kaduna have seen the handiwork of the evil ones who have decided that they’ll keep releasing evil on us in our land until we don’t know when they’ll stop,’ he said. ‘It has always been obvious and clear that the government is capable and able to stop this evil, be it the government of Kaduna state or the Government of Nigeria. They’re capable, they’re able to stop this evil, but the truth is: are they ready and willing to stop this evil?’
Rev Bauta Motty, a Christian leader from southern Kaduna state and a former general secretary of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), said in a statement that the attack on Runji village was the third on local Christians in a week. He said many others were wounded and houses had been burned (published reports cited a government official as saying 40 homes were destroyed).
‘Before then, two Christians were killed four days earlier in that same village,’ Rev Motty said. ‘This is beside the 17 Christians that were killed four days ago at Atak Njei village.’
One resident, John Kantiyok, described the attack as ‘nothing short of a massacre‘.
Francis Sani, a council official of Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, stated: ‘The attackers in their numbers maimed and burned mostly women and children, set houses ablaze, and raided several houses within the community. We are devastated and shocked by the level of carnage and mindless bloodletting.‘
Update On Nigeria Campaign
If you were unable to join the online launch event for our Nigeria campaign, Out of these Ashes, earlier this month, you can now watch it on our YouTube channel.
Throughout the duration of the campaign we will be posting weekly prayer videos and regular updates from our partners in Nigeria which you can download and use in your church or home group. All of our Out of these Ashes resources are available on our website.
Mayflower Church finds safe refuge!
Join us in thanking God that the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, otherwise known as the Mayflower Church, has found sanctuary in the US where members have been granted humanitarian parole status.
Led by Pastor Pan Yongguang, a group of 28 adults and 32 children from the church left China in November 2019 and arrived at Jeju Island in South Korea after enduring repeated threats and interrogations from Chinese police. After exhausting the Korean immigration system, the church members travelled to Bangkok in Thailand in order to seek UNHCR refugee status.
In a drastic turn of events, Thai immigration officials detained the 63 members of the church last month, putting them in imminent danger of forced return to China where they would have faced certain retaliation, abuse and prison time at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.
US officials, however, were able to negotiate the release of the church members into their custody and get them on a plane to America.
‘It is the most joyful homecoming to welcome the Mayflower Church to Texas,‘ said Bob Fu, founder and president of our partner, ChinaAid. ‘None of this would have been possible without the help of partners, members of Congress, and US government staff who worked countless hours in order to bring the Mayflower Church to safety. Now they can live out their faith fully without fear of persecution!’
PRAYER AND PRAISE
- Pray for all those bereaved by this horrendous attack in Kaduna state. Pray also for the injured and traumatised; and that there will be an end to the violence against Christians in Nigeria
- Thank God that the members of Mayflower Church have been able to find a safe, new home in the US.
(Sources: Morning Star News; ChinaAid)