Following one of the worst massacres Nigeria has seen in recent years, Christians in the country have demanded that the government do more to protect them from Fulani and Islamist militants.
Last week over 200 people were killed when militants launched an attack on, among other targets, a mission station housing internally displaced people. Unusually the Nigerian police were able to fight off the attackers, however they were not well equipped enough to prevent them turning their attention to the market area.
The militants proceeded to burn people, houses and other buildings in a brutal orgy of violence.
Attacks have become common, especially during Christian festivals such as Easter and Christmas. The security services have often been criticised for their failure to prevent such attacks, even in cases where advance warning has been given.
The governor of Benue State, where the attack took place, Father Hyacinth Alia said the state was effectively under siege and that the situation had become “disastrous”.
Jo Newhouse, spokesperson for Open Doors in sub-Saharan Africa, said, “For this pattern of attack on mostly Christian villages to continue without restraint is totally unacceptable.
"Christians in the Middle Belt of Nigeria need to know their government is willing to do what is needed to secure their safety of all her citizens, regardless of their ethnicity or religion."
Newhouse also called for compensation for the survivors of such attacks, thousands of whom have been displaced from their homes and echoed previous demands that the international community do more to get action from the Nigerian government.
Following the attack last week, a Catholic priest told Aid to the Church in Need that he had escaped from the violence, but that his congregation had dropped from 500 to just 20. The missing members had either been killed or forced to flee.
Earlier this year a Catholic bishop told the British House of Lords that economic and political relations between Britain and Nigeria should be made conditional on the latter taking action to protect its citizens from militants.
The bishop also added that deadly attacks at Christmas and Easter had already become “customary” in the country.
