Source: www.persecution.org
Date: September 12, 2021
Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – Last month, gunmen suspected to be Fulani militants attacked multiple Christian villages in Plateau State’s Riyom Local Government Area. Juliet Yohanna, a pregnant mother of five, recently told Sun News how she survived the massacre which killed 14 members of her village.
“On that fateful day, the Fulani were seen on the hills moving as if they were passing by,” Juliet told the Sun News. “Our people couldn’t sleep that night. But as they tried to catch some sleep in the early hours of the fateful day, the (militant) herdsmen struck, and took them unawares. They killed 14 persons from the community, burnt our houses and destroyed our foodstuffs. We had nowhere to run to and no help coming our way.”
A quick thinker, Juliet took her five children and hid in a mining pit. For four days, they lay still, with nothing to eat or drink.
According to the Sun News, Juliet’s husband, Yohanna David, searched and cried for days without seeing his family. Finally, he concluded that they had been killed in the attack.
“It was God that saved us. I never knew I could make it,” Juliet said in the local language, adding that the gunmen walked across the pit without seeing them. “Imagine staying for four days without even water. And I am pregnant. My children also endured the whole situation.”
Nigeria has long suffered at the hands of violent militants, especially in its Middle Belt region where jihadists have killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. Over the years, the Nigerian government has proved utterly ineffective against the violence and, as has been the case in Plateau State over the past few months, has failed the Christian community.
ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Nathan Johnson, states, “these barbaric and devastating attacks must be stopped. The loss of so many lives with no support or aid from the government means that violent attackers are likely to continue their violence. The Nigerian government must figure out a way to stop these attacks quicker and then must severely punish those who commit these atrocities.”
Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria who suffer daily for their faith.
HOW TO PRAY: Pray for healing for this family following this traumatic event. Pray for a healthy and safe remainder of Juliet’s pregnancy. Pray for an end to Fulani-led violence.