NIGERIA — Christmas 2023 saw many largely Christian villages in Nigeria’s Middle Belt attacked by militant Fulani herdsmen. Magdalene* and Mafulul* recount their painful stories – but also God’s healing through trauma-care workshops run by Open Doors partners.

Mafulul*:

“By 5pm the attackers came. They started shooting everywhere.

“My wife had just finished cooking. I ran into the house and told her that she should leave with our son. We told the women and children to go and hide near the river. Then the attackers invaded our area.”

Christmas 2023 saw many largely Christian villages in Nigeria’s middle belt attacked by militant Fulani herdsmen. Whether they stayed and hid or fled for their lives. Sadly, many Christians fell victim to the violence. Mafulul and Magdalene lived to tell their stories, but members of their families tragically did not.

Magdalene*:

“They came to our village at 4 p.m. By the time they got to where we were, it was 8 p.m. and the place was dark. The sound of the gunshot made my baby scared. And he burst into tears. They came in and dragged away the wooden plank I had put over me as a shield. When we came out, we went to the kitchen, but they had wrecked it.

“They were in a neighboring house by then, then I went out to the other rooms where the other women had been. The the sitting room was on fire and the nine month old baby was there. The mother was already dead and he was just crying. We had no way of entering. The fire was everywhere. And the baby cried and cried until he died in front of my eyes. I called on God to look upon us.”

Mafulul:

“20 people were killed instantly and about 45 were injured. It was then that they killed my wife.

“She was carrying our nine month old son on her back. When I went to the river, I found her on the ground. She had been shot in the stomach when the bullet went through her body into our son on her back.

“I saw them there. I cried. I cried. It was so hard. I turned and saw my brother’s wife with two of their children, all of them dead on the ground.

These Christian brothers and sisters have witnessed horrific scenes and have been traumatized by their experiences.

Magdalene:

“Life became so difficult for me? If I sit down, I keep crying. Sitting at night, everything that happened keeps playing back like a movie. The things that happened to me. I see flashbacks again and again.”

But Open Doors has invited them to the trauma center where they can receive biblical teaching and compassionate care.

Mafulul:

In the few days that I have spent here receiving teaching. I’m healing inside. We’ve learned that if you share your feelings with someone, you know, it will bring relief.

Like when I cried just now, when you feel like crying, you cry out. So then the pain will subside.

Magdalene:

“On the day I was discharged from the hospital, soldiers brought in a Fulani man who had been shot when they took him inside to dress the wound. And the rest of the Fulanis were outside an hour as they discharged me. I was heading outside when I saw them. I cried and refused to leave by the door.

I asked to go out a different way. They pleaded with me that I should go out of that door because there was no other way out. When I was passing the Fulanis, I turned my face the other way and I was just crying and crying and refused to look at them again. But now that I have come here, truly it has been an encouragement to us.

Even if I see them, I will greet them. If they like, they can answer or not, but I will surely greet them because I have now heard the teaching we received and I have been encouraged so much. Let us be all forgiving.”

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About Open Doors UK

For over 60 years, Open Doors UK has worked in the world’s most oppressive countries, empowering Christians who are persecuted for their beliefs. Open Doors equips persecuted Christians in more than 60 countries through programs like Bible & Gospel Development, Women & Children Advancement, and Christian Community Restoration.