“The crisis is worsening in the central region of the country.”

ABUJA, Nigeria Fulani attackers killed 18 Christians in a late-night assault on Friday (July 19) in central Nigeria, area residents said.

The assailants invaded Mbacher village, a predominantly Christian community in Benue state’s Katsina-Ala County, at about 11 p.m., said Joseph Achiv.

“A group of Fulani Muslims carrying deadly weapons attacked Mbacher village,” Achiv told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Eighteen Christians were killed during the attack as the villagers were sleeping.”

Justine Shaku, chairman of the Katsina-Ala Local Government Council, said members that night received distressed calls and text messages from villagers that a group of Fulani terrorists were invading their village.

“We made efforts to ensure soldiers were drafted to the area to repel the bandits, but the soldiers got there when the terrorists had left after killing 18 people,” Shaku said.

Catherine Anene, a spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, has confirmed the deployment of security personnel to the region.

“The Katsina-Ala Division of the police has reported to us about the attacks in that area and the deaths of eighteen people,” Anene stated.

“Security agents have been deployed there as part of a joint security effort, and an investigation into the incident has begun.”

The Katsina-Ala Division of the police has reported to us about the attacks in that area and the deaths of eighteen people,” Anene stated.

“Security agents have been deployed there as part of a joint security effort, and an investigation into the incident has begun.”

Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, according to Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, with 3,300.

Nigeria remained the sixth most challenging country for Christians to be in on the 2024 World Watch List.

In the 2024 WWL of the countries where it is most challenging to be a Christian, Nigeria was ranked No. 6, as in the previous year.

Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views.

However, some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, as the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report.

“They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.

Since desertification has made it harder for herders to maintain their herds, Christian leaders in Nigeria have stated that they believe the reason behind herders’ attacks on Christian communities in the Middle Belt of Nigeria is their intention to impose Islam and seize Christian lands.