A recent attack in Nigeria resulted in the death of 20 people in a largely Christian farming village.

Open Doors reported that the attack — which unfolded in the early hours of Sunday, June 21 — occurred when a “group of armed hoodlums” struck the Kawel community in Bokkos Local Government Area.

The group clashed with police before they fled, according to the report.

While 18 people were killed at the scene, another two died after being taken to the hospital, and a 14-year-old was still receiving treatment.

The assailants shot Rev. Markus Nyam, who died outside a church building.

Other victims included a mother, father, and two of their sons — leaving one son alive — and a pregnant woman and medical staff from a clinic.

The police only responded hours after the attack.

Bishop Ayuba Matawal, a church leader in Bokkos, said that the late arrival of the police “left the defenceless community entirely at the mercy of their assailants for the duration of the raid,” per Open Doors.

Christian Daily International reported that the assailants were Fulani herdsmen — members of a largely Islamic people group that have been known to attack Christian villagers in northern and central Nigeria.

Dorcas Ishaya, a resident of Bokkos, said that “Fulani invaded Kawel community in the Mushere area around 2 a.m., killing more than 20 Christians, and many injured.”

Tongret Ezekiel, another resident, described them as “terrorists” and likewise lamented the late arrival of the security forces.

“Now that they have arrived, and their primary concern seems to be taking away the bodies of those killed by the terrorists,” Ezekiel described.

“The Nigerian authorities have failed to protect lives and properties of Christians when it mattered most, but now appear to be more interested in the dead than in the living.”

Christian Daily International noted that between October 2024 and September 2025, 72 percent of the Christians killed for their faith worldwide lived in Nigeria.

Some Christian leaders note that the Fulani attacks are motivated by a combination of Islamic ideology and encroaching desertification, which makes it more difficult for them to sustain their herds.

There is additional violence spreading to the south, and a new jihadist group called Lakurawa — which possesses advanced weapons and ties to al-Qaeda — has arisen in the northwest.

Beyond attacks on villages, the Islamic herdsmen have been known to commit sexual violence and conduct roadblock killings.

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