“It was terrifying for us. When we heard gunshots, we dropped to the floor. We committed our lives to God.”
Try as he might to sound calm, Father Ukuma Jonathan's voice began to falter as he recounted the catastrophic events of the night before.
Suddenly, it all came pouring out: it was a rainy night in Yelwata, in Nigeria’s Benue State, when militant Fulanis descended on the town from multiple directions.
First, the armed men made for Yelwata’s St Joseph’s Church, where Fr Jonathan serves as parish priest. Inside, more than 700 displaced Christians lay asleep. He said police repelled the militants but lacked the firepower to prevent them from launching an attack on the nearby market square, where hundreds of other IDPs (internally displaced persons) were sleeping in temporary accommodation.
