By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
ABUJA (Worthy News) – Residents in Nigeria’s Plateau State are reeling from attacks by Islamist hardliners that killed dozens of civilians, most of them predominantly Christian farmers, several sources said.
In the latest known deadly violence, at least 14 villagers and a police officer were reportedly killed on Thursday in two separate attacks carried out by gunmen in Plateau’s Bokkos Local Government Area.
Nigerian media said many victims, mainly from the Chirang community, were attacked while returning home from the region’s Bokkos market to Mangor village.
The chairman of the violence-watching Community Peace Observers in Bokkos, Kefas Mallai, confirmed the killings, saying, “Fourteen natives were ambushed and killed by suspected terrorists while three others were injured on their way from Bokkos Market to Mangor Village of Bokkos [Local Government Area] LG.”
The police officer was at a checkpoint along Richa Road in the same Bokkos LG before he was killed, officials said.
Earlier, at least 27 mainly Christian farmers, including men and women, were reportedly killed in a fresh attack by gunmen in Bindi-Jebbu of the Tahoss community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Villagers said the July 14 attack left “many people” injured, with several being “rushed to hospitals, including the Jos University Teaching Hospital and Plateau Hospital.”
Nigeria has seen numerous attacks by Islamic fighters often linked to groups that want to establish Sharia (Islamic law) ruling the nation.
Thousands of Christians are among those killed, according to Christian advocacy groups. Nigeria ranks 7th on the annual World Watch List of 50 nations where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face the most persecution for their faith.
“Jihadist violence continues to escalate in Nigeria, and Christians are particularly at risk from targeted attacks by Islamist militants, including Fulani fighters, Boko Haram, and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province),” Open Doors explained.
“These [attacks] increased under the rule of former president Muhammadu Buhari, putting Nigeria at the epicentre of targeted violence against the church. The government’s failure to protect Christians and punish perpetrators has only strengthened the militants’ influence,” the group added in a recent assessment.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
In a decision that could reshape federal identification standards, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to enforce its policy requiring Americans to list their biological sex–male or female–on passports, rather than self-identified gender.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R–S.D.) told Republican senators Thursday to prepare for a critical Friday vote aimed at ending the nation’s longest-ever government shutdown — now in its sixth week — as lawmakers scramble to reach a deal amid growing economic strain and partisan stalemate.
The Senate on Thursday narrowly rejected a Democratic resolution that would have required President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval before taking military action against Venezuela, marking the second failed attempt in as many months to rein in the administration’s campaign targeting Venezuelan drug-trafficking vessels.
Kazakhstan has officially joined the Abraham Accords, becoming the first country to do so during U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, the White House confirmed Thursday evening.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday carried out a sweeping wave of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and its terror infrastructure across southern Lebanon, marking one of the largest military operations since the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 1,505 criminal foreign nationals in the Houston area during a roughly 10-day operation ending Oct.31.
Growing outrage over Amsterdam’s Royal Concert Hall (Het Koninklijk Concertgebouw) decision to cancel a Hanukkah concert featuring Jewish-Israeli cantor Shai Abramson has prompted an open letter from the heirs of Holocaust survivor and musician Lex van Weren, urging sponsors to withdraw support until the venue reverses course.