Nigerian pastor and family burnt alive in Fulani attack

4 September 2018

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A Nigerian pastor, his wife and three children were burnt alive when their house in Abonong village, Plateau State, was set on fire by Fulani on the night of 28 August.

“The attackers armed with machetes and AK-47 rifles stormed the village at about 8pm on Tuesday [28 August], shooting sporadically and burning houses including part of the reverend’s house,” a source told journalists. Pastor Adamu Jang and his wife died, along with their three children.

Attacks by Fulani in Nigeria are often reported as a conflict between Muslim herdsmen and Christian farming communities, but Christian homes and churches are often deliberately targeted

At least eight people were killed and churches and houses in several villages were set alight. Police later confirmed that 95 houses in Barkin Ladi county were burnt in the attack and that 310 cattle were stolen. A local politician stated “many houses and churches were burnt to ashes”.

On 26 June, 50 Christians were killed in an attack on two other villages in Plateau State by armed Fulani Muslims. The Christian Association of Nigeria estimated in June that attacks by Muslim Fulani herdsmen have claimed the lives of more than 6,000 Christians so far in 2018.

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