By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) - Christians have appealed for prayers after suspected Islamic militants raided a church and villages in northern Nigeria, killing dozens of people.
The call for prayers came as more details emerged Thursday about the September 26 attacks amid mounting concerns about the mass killings of Christians in Nigeria.
In the first attack, “a group of gunmen raided a church in Gavaciwa in Kaduna State, and opened fire amid the worship service. One worshipper, Nasiru Abdullahi, was killed as a result of the violence,” reported the advocacy group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC).
“In the aftermath of the invasion, numerous other believers were rushed to the hospital with injuries,” VOMC told Worthy News.
Later that evening, “30 Christians were slain in two other communities of Kaduna State, allegedly they too were victims of the Fulani herdsmen,” according to VOMC investigators
Dozens of homes were also destroyed in the latest of many ongoing attacks, Christians said.
MILITANT HERDSMEN
It is believed that the attackers are militant members of the Fulani herdsmen group, well-informed sources said.
The state governor reportedly condemned the violence, saying it was “deliberately divisive by playing on religious sensitivities.”
VOMC said it had urged its Christian supporters to pray for “Nasiru's family, as well as the families of the other 30 Christians who were killed later that day”.
They are “understandably in deep mourning over their tragic loss,” the group added.
“Ask God to minister physical healing to the many surviving victims now recovering from injuries caused by the recent attacks. And to also provide emotional and mental strength for those who witnessed the violence,” VOMC added in its prayer appeal.
URGING PEACE
The group said it hopes that the “authorities governing Kaduna State will be able to locate the perpetrators responsible for these crimes against their fellow Nigerians.”
It urged the government to “find ways to effectively establish peace and order among the people of this troubled nation.”
Rights activists fear 2021 will show a similar or higher death rate of Christians killed for their faith as last year.
A report by the Christian persecution monitoring group Open Doors recently showed the number of Christians killed in 2020 increased by 60 percent, primarily because of Islamic violence against Nigerian Christians.
The study said more than 2,200 of 4,761 Christians killed worldwide in 2020 died in Nigeria because of radical Islamists.