The death toll from an attack last week by gunmen in northwestern Nigeria has doubled to more than 130. The “‘Fulani ethnic group’ appeared to have been a deliberate plan to wipe out certain communities.”
Those “certain communities” are the Christian victims of the so-called “Fulani ethnic group,” often referred to as “Fulani herdsmen.”
Governor Nasir El-Rufai “told reporters that police were still investigating the gunmen’s motive for the attack,” as he tries to minimize the reality of the jihad.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been more upfront about the Fulani jihadists, stating: “Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshippers is not only vile, evil, and satanic…..it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting.”
Christianity Today reported that “Fulani have become more deadly than the Boko Haram jihadist insurgency,” and their main target is the Christian community, which they seek to wipe out.
“Death toll from last week’s northwest Nigeria attack doubles to 130,” by Felix Onuah, Reuters, February 19, 2019:
ABUJA (Reuters) – The death toll from an attack last week by gunmen in northwestern Nigeria has doubled to more than 130, the Kaduna state governor said on Tuesday, adding it appeared to have been a deliberate plan to “wipe out certain communities”.
Governor Nasir el-Rufai did not specify what he meant by this. Those killed in last Friday’s attack were mainly from the Fulani ethnic group, who are usually Muslim and who have been involved in clashes in recent years with people from the Adara ethnic group, who are predominantly Christian.
Local residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, said last week that the attack was a reprisal for violence last October.
El-Rufai told reporters that police were still investigating the gunmen’s motive for the attack in Kajuru local government area in the south of the state, and there had been arrests. He did not say how many people had been detained
“The more the police dig into this matter, the more it is clear that there was a deliberate plan to wipe out certain communities,” he said, adding that the latest report on the incident showed more than 130 people had been killed.
The attack took place the day before Nigeria was supposed to hold a presidential election, but electoral authorities delayed the vote by one week citing logistical challenges. There was no indication that the attack was related to the election….