14 Christians Killed After Christmas Carol Service in Nigeria – Pray for the Persecuted

On Sunday, December 22, 2024, 14 Christians have been killed in an assault following a Christmas carol service in Plateau state, Nigeria. The victims included a pregnant girl and a 1-year-old woman named Sheba Ernest. The assault occurred roughly 22 miles from Jos, focusing on the Irigwe tribe in north-central Nigeria.

The incident passed off shortly after a Christmas carol service on the Evangelical Church Successful All (ECWA). Armed males carried out the assault, which resulted within the lack of complete households and prompted a mass burial to honor the deceased.

“Native chief Wuna Gado reported that he had alerted close by army personnel about uncommon actions however felt his warnings have been dismissed.”

This assault is a part of ongoing violence towards Christian communities in Nigeria, significantly within the north-central area. The Irigwe group, residence to about 1,000 Christians, has been combating with battle and vulnerability as a consequence of assaults by Islamic Fulani extremists.

The incident has as soon as once more raised issues in regards to the security of Christians in Nigeria throughout the Christmas season, with some fearing a repeat of final yr’s Christmas Eve assaults that killed at the least 160 folks in Plateau State and tons of have been injured.

In keeping with a report by The Observatory for Non secular Freedom in Africa, from October 2019 to September 2023, at the least 16,769 Christians have been killed in Nigeria.

Because the flip of the twenty first century, roughly 62,000 Nigerian Christians have been killed by terrorist teams equivalent to Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, and others.

In 2023 alone, it’s estimated that greater than 6,000 folks have been killed by Islamist terrorists and radicalized Fulani militia, a lot of whom have been Christians.

Please pray for the households of those that misplaced their family members on this assault, for the security and safety of Christian communities in Nigeria, and for peace to prevail within the area. Could God convey consolation to the grieving and power to these going through persecution.