Nigeria: Christian Burned Beyond Recognition Following New Year’s Eve Prayer

01/04/2022 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – Five people in Nigeria were brutally attacked by Fulani militants on Friday, December 31, while on their way home from an annual prayer meeting held for the Christian communities of Irigwe chiefdom.

An International Christian Concern (ICC) correspondent who was at the event spoke to the National Publicity Secretary of the Irigwe Christians, who said, “One was killed and burnt beyond recognition, while four others sustained varying degrees of injuries.”

The deceased victim was identified as 38-year-old Adamu Sunday. Those injured are Bitrus Sunday, 31, Mr. Bitrus Doro, 41, Sunday Musa, 43, and Sunday Alex, age unknown.

One of the survivors told ICC that during the attack, a Fulani militant warned that it was “the first attack for the new year,” and that more would be coming in 2022.

The unnamed survivor added, “It was God that saved my life; I don’t know how I escaped; it was God that saved me.”

The youth leader of the Irigwe tribesmen told ICC that authorities ignored threats from the militants prior to the bloodshed. “This was the second time [the] Fulani promised an attack on one of the communities, and the government of Nigeria doesn’t want to protect them because they are Christians,” he said.

“Attacks of this nature have been ongoing for the past 20 years and the silence is deafening,” said ICC President Jeff King. “While the government claims to be doing its best to curb the violence, the reality paints a different picture of a Muslim-led government allowing anti-Christian violence to continue without consequence.”

Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. We also encourage you to contact the Nigerian embassy in your country today, calling on them to address the persecution of Christians.