Women and children in Nigeria yesterday (Monday, 11 August) blocked a road in protest at the 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 8am. The town, which is up to 98 percent Christian, has seen the deadliest offensives by Islamist militants in recent months where hundreds in the region have been killed and thousands 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, with Church reports now confirming that 271 died in the attacks on the night of 13 June when people 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 yesterday’s attack, saying: “It is terrible, people are traumatised, 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. Today’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 have been growing crops on the plots of land.
Fr Jonathan said he believed Monday’s attack was by Fulani terrorists. He said: “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 Church man, 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 added: “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.”
By Nathalie Raffray.
