Terrified women and children block road after three more murders
On Monday, August 11, women and children in Nigeria blocked a road in protest of their lack of security, after their besieged town fell victim to yet another fatal attack.
Three people were killed, and three others were critically injured, in Yelewata, Benue State on Monday, at around 8 A.M. The town, which is up to 98 percent Christian, has seen the deadliest offensives by Islamist militants in recent months; hundreds in the region have been killed, and thousands were forced to flee. Fulani herdsmen are believed to be behind the attacks.
The latest killing comes nearly two months after Islamist militants carried out a massacre in Yelewata, in which 271 people died, according to Church reports; the victims were macheted, shot dead, and burned alive. The town was also targeted the previous month, when jihadists slaughtered a father, a teenage boy, and a two-year-old child.
In an exclusive interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Father Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee, parish priest of Yelewata, gave an account of Monday’s attack, saying: “It is terrible; people are traumatized; it’s a horrific thing to happen. People are protesting and refusing to leave the street. It’s not possible for motorists to get through. Women and children are blocking the road because they don’t feel safe, even with security presence. Nothing seems to be working; the security isn’t protecting them enough. By now, we should be seeing results. [Monday’s] incident shows that security is not guaranteed.”
He said the attack happened on farmland that was abandoned following the June attack. Some people who did not flee had been growing crops on the plots of land.
Fr. Jonathan said he believed Monday’s attack was by Fulani terrorists: “The Fulani come with their cattle and take over farmland and kill anyone who puts up resistance.”
He added, “We don’t have any other people coming to attack us, only the Fulani. They are the ones causing all the issues.”
Asked if he believed the attacks were religiously motivated, Fr. Jonathan said: “It’s multi-dimensional. There is the economic situation, and we can look at the political. People of a particular religion talk about trying to take over the land. Looking at it as a Churchman, the fact that it has affected the Church so badly – our churches are attacked; the people had to flee; our community is decimated, etc. – from that point of view, we can say it is religiously motivated. People were beginning to come back [to Yelewata], little by little, but with the lack of security, confidence is no longer there.”
He continued, “People have not given up totally but when situations like this keep occurring, it becomes even more difficult for us to preach the Good News, to really know how to get the message across properly, to give them hope. They remain trusting and open that, despite everything, God has not abandoned them. We are calling for prayers and for peace to prevail in Nigeria and call on our government to do more to provide a stable environment for our citizens, so people can survive and thrive on their own.”
