FaithWire – A new report into the persecution of Nigeria’s Christian community has found that around 1,000 believers have been killed by Islamic militants over during 2019 alone. The Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), headed up by a member of the British House of Lords, Baroness Cox, discovered that believers in the North and Central region of the West African nation were the most severely affected. “Islamist Fulani militia continues to engage in an aggressive and strategic land grabbing policy in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Southern Kaduna and parts of Bauchi state,” reads the report,
which has been titled “Your Land or Your Body.” “They attack rural villages, force villagers off their lands and settle in their place — a strategy that is epitomized by the phrase: ‘your land or your blood.’” According to HART, the exact number of Christians killed by Islamic militants Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen was unknown, though the data suggests the figure to be sitting at around 1,000 for the year. The organization believes that some 6,000 have been killed since 2015, and with an additional 12,000 displaced. “In every village, the message from local people is the same: ‘Please, please help us! The Fulani are coming. We are not safe in our own homes,’” the report read. READ MORE
