ICC Note: Following a brutal string of attacks a week ago, more than 150 have been killed and thousands more displaced. The attacks came as gunmen stormed three villages, setting more than 200 houses on fire along with three churches. The Nigerian government has come under strong criticism for their ability to protect citizens from attacks such as these, and those carried out by the Boko Haram terrorist group in the north of Nigeria.

03/24/2014 Nigeria (Worldwatch Monitor) – The death toll following a massacre across three villages in central Nigeria a week ago has risen beyond 150, according to the deputy Chairman of the Kaura Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna.

Suspected Fulani herdsmen raided three mainly Christian villages Ugwar Sankwai, Ungwan Gata and Chenshyi (known also as Tekun) late last Friday night (14th March).

240 houses were set ablaze, alongside three churches, one ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All) and two Anglican. The wife and three children of the pastor of the ECWA Church, Rev Likita Riku were killed, and burnt beyond recognition.

The victims were buried in three different mass graves after inter-denominational prayers last Sunday.

On Tuesday, March 18, our reporter visited the area: three days after the massacre, he saw that the survivors were still highly traumatized. The affected villages, comprised of mainly farmers and small scale traders, were deserted (an undermined number of food stores were also looted). Dozens of those affected were sleeping in a primary school, some of them were with relatives in nearby areas.

Meanwhile hundreds of relatives and sympathizers arrived to commiserate with survivors. The ECWA pastor was still in a state of total shock, unable to speak to other relatives and a number of church officials who came to try to support him.

Surviving children, who were still crying, asked where their parents, brothers, sisters and friends were: many were hacked to death.

Explaining how the killings occurred, a survivor, Emmanuel Tonak, said, “We were fast asleep when we heard gun shots and chanting of ‘Allahu akbar’ [God is great]. Suddenly we came out and saw them advancing and some houses in flames. They came around 11 pm. I escaped into the forest, when they came I started hearing cries and gun shots.”

Government National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) workers also came to provide some relief: notably food, mattresses, blankets and mosquito nets.

NEMA has registered about 2,000 people displaced by the attack: its Zonal Coordinator Alhaji Musa Ilallah acknowledged that more may be needed, due to the scale of destruction.
…