Christians in a town in Nigeria are living in a state of shock and fear after Fulani herdsmen launched back-to-back attacks on their community in the past days, leaving over 40 people dead.
According to Morning Star News, more than 40 Christians were killed after Fulani herdsmen launched an attack in Godogodo town in northern Nigeria.
Residents of the town witnessed how the herdsmen reportedly targeted Christians in the area by burning down their houses.
Rev. Thomas Akut of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Good News Church recounted how Christians like him scrambled to escape the wrath of the herdsmen.
He said the attackers "were in the hundreds and were well-armed," prompting the residents to take cover in bushes and other safer areas.
"Some of them wore army uniforms, while others wore police uniforms. Some of them exchanged gunfire with the few soldiers stationed at the post office in the town, while others burned down houses of Christians," Akut recalled.
Forty people died in the incident, which he described as a form of "jihad."
"It is an Islamic holy war against Christians in the southern part of Kaduna state,"Akut said.
Solomon Musa, an attorney and president of the Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU), meanwhile said the herdsmen have been targeting Christians who have no intention and capabilities to fight back.
"Godogodo communities once again came under very fierce, terrifying, brutal, savage and barbarous attack by Fulani herdsmen without provocation of any nature from Saturday 15th October 2016, to Sunday afternoon," Musa said at a press conference last week.
This attack happened after Muslim herdsmen also attacked eight Christians with guns and machetes, also in Godogodo town.
Musa called out the Nigerian government for its failure to stop the attacks on Christians.
"The savagery and barbarity of the attack is beyond belief," Musa said. "Yet, governments at the federal and state levels appear quiet and noncommittal. We have been abandoned, deserted and neglected."
