AFRICA/NIGERIA – Over 100 dead, 98,000 displaced, 217 churches destroyed in the diocese of Wukari

Abuja – “Since September, over 98,000 people, including 16 priests, have been displaced due to the ongoing violence in the southern part of Taraba State , while 217 churches have been completely destroyed,” reports Msgr. Mark Maigida Nzukwein , Bishop of Wukari in a statement released following the diocese’s third General Assembly. “The homes of eight priests were also ransacked, and it is estimated that over 100 people have been killed,” the statement reads. Among the most recently attacked churches is Saint James the Great Catholic Church in Adu, Takum District . A fire severely damaged the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Wukari on March 4 .
The violence is primarily affecting areas such as Chanchanji District in the local government area of Takum, as well as Ussa and Donga.
These attacks on rural communities are most likely perpetrated by Fulani herding gangs, who predominantly target Christian villages, often inhabited by the Tiv ethnic group. After destroying houses, churches, and other buildings, the attackers often illegally occupy the land of the displaced residents. The herding raids exacerbate the centuries-old land conflict between the Tiv and the Jukun .
On February 12 of this year, the clergy from the dioceses of Wukari and Jalingo to to the streets demanding immediate government intervention to stop the wave of murders, kidnappings, and destruction affecting Christian farming communities, particularly the Tiv people in southern Taraba . On that occasion, the diocese of Wukari reported: “To date, more than 80 people have been killed, many more injured, over 200 communities and churches destroyed, and over 90,000 Christians forced to flee.”
Nearly three months later, despite urgent appeals to the authorities to restore safety to the population in the affected areas, these figures have continued to rise.

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