03/25/2022 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – According to Morning Star News, suspected Fulani herdsmen kidnapped 46 Christians and an unknown number of their children on Thursday, March 17. The attack took place in a predominantly Christian village, Agunu Dutse, located in the central Nigerian state of Kaduna.
The Fulani herders are predominantly Muslim, and extremist herdsmen frequently launch violent attacks against Christian farmers in Nigeria.
“The herdsmen terrorists invaded our village, Agunu Dutse, while the Christian villagers were sleeping,” area resident Rahila John Nuhu Morning Star in a text message. “Please be in prayer for these Christians being held captive in an unknown location at the moment.”
Nigeria has led the world in the number of kidnapped Christians last year (October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021), with more than 2,500. The country has increased its number of abductions by 990 from the previous year, according to persecution watchdog Open Door’s World Watch List Report.
Additionally, Nigeria came in as #1 globally for the number of Christians killed for their faith. 4,650 Christians were killed this past year, up from 3,530 the previous year, according to the same World Watch List report. In addition, Nigeria is ranked as the seventh most difficult country to be a Christian in the world.