An American humanitarian aid worker, Judd Saul, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Equipping The Persecuted Organisation, has expressed concern over the indiscriminate killings of Christians by suspected Jihadi groups in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.
In a statement shared on social media obtained by Advocatus Africa, Saul lamented that “185 Christians have been killed,” with “Over 200 were kidnapped [and] thousands displaced.”
He gave the breakdown of the death toll as 47 people in Plateau, 12 in Benue, 22 in Kaduna, 14 in Nasarawa and 6 in Kwara.
The list of those murdered also includes 10 in Kogi, 8 in Niger, 34 in Borno, 5 in Adamawa and 18 in Taraba.
Photos of the persecuted Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
Saul observed that “The Middle Belt is becoming more volatile by the day. But our team is not backing down. And none of this would be possible without you.”
Taking a swipe at the government, he noted, “You are the reason: Terror alerts are issued; Widows and orphans are cared for, survivors receive life-saving aid, entire communities are not left alone in their darkest hour.”
The CEO of EquippingThePersecuted.org underlined, “We cannot stop. We will not stop. Because they have no one else.”
According to him, “I have struggled to find the words to write this. Over Easter weekend—while many celebrated the resurrection of Christ—our persecuted brothers and sisters in Nigeria were slaughtered.”
The rights activist also expressed worry over the gory images and videos of villages sacked and dozens killed.
Photos of the carnage in some communities in the Middle Belt region of the country
“Most images and videos are too gruesome to share. Entire communities devastated. Families wiped out. Survivors left with nothing.
“And here is what makes this even more devastating: We warned of these attacks two weeks ago.
Every single location where we received intelligence… was attacked. Every. Single. One,” the humanitarian aid worker lamented.
Saul claimed that “The Nigerian government had advance warning—and did nothing,” adding that “Yet, because of your support, something remarkable also happened.”
The charity stressed that “Through the terror alerts issued by Equipping The Persecuted and TruthNigeria.com, some attacks were actually stopped. Local village security teams were able to prepare and defend their communities.”
He noted that “Right now, our teams are on the ground—moving fast into dangerous areas” as well as “delivering emergency food and medical aid, providing financial support to devastated families, assisting the wounded and helping survivors rebuild and standing with communities as the security situation continues to deteriorate.”
Some victims receiving food items from EquippingThePersecuted
EquippingThePersecuted used the occasion to canvas for prayers and generous support of donors, describing it as “the backbone of this mission.”
While “the death toll could have been even worse,” the organisation assured that it is “responding to one of the deadliest coordinated waves of attacks” it has encountered.
