Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has expressed concern about the incessant attack on Christians in the country during a visit to the headquarters of the International Christian Concern, ICC, in Washington DC, United States of America. He was received by the organization’s President, Jeff King and the communications director, Mike Pritchard.
According to the Governor, churches, schools and hospitals have been destroyed by terrorists in Nigeria. Consequently, it has also displaced people and crippled commercial activities in some parts of the country. He also described the notorious activities by the terrorists as war on Christians in the nation.
He added that although Christians are being tempted to resort to self-dense, it may amount to war in the country.
Hence, he pleaded with the international community to help out the situation before Christians become insignificant in the country.
The ICC focuses on the persecution of Christians around the world. It ranked Nigeria as one of the unsafe places to live in the world, in its 2021 report, due to the activities of Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram. The report said that since the year 2000, more than 50,000 Christians have been killed in the country.
Part of the report said, “Fulani militants killed more Christians in the past several years than Boko Haram and displaced Christian farmers, apart from conservative Islamic communities allowing the forceful conversion and marriage of young Christian women and discrimination against Christians seeking employment”.
Governor Ortom further appreciated King and his organisation for their well-documented research about his state and Nigeria in general.
On his part, King said, “It was on this score that we wanted to hear from the horse’s mouth as Benue state was one of the worst hit areas where farming communities have been displaced by violent herders.”
He also promised to continue to use his organization to document the ill treatment of Christians in Nigeria, while describing the situation as saddening.
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