Nigerian Christian Student Killed, Two Villagers Abducted During Attacks by Islamic Fulani Militants

New reports out of Nigeria say Muslim Fulani militants have launched more murderous attacks against Christians. 

There were reports that the Islamic militants killed Sebastine Stephen, a Christian student, and abducted two villagers on April 16. 

Stephen was visiting his home in Kaduna after his college in northwest Nigeria closed down over concerns with the coronavirus.

Area residents say the armed attackers shot and killed Stephen, then kidnapped Jack Nweke and his wife, who are also Christians. 

"Sebastine Stephen was shot when the armed Fulani herdsmen attacked Gbagyi Villa area in Chikun Local Government Area in the southern end of the city of Kaduna," area resident Hosea Yusuf said. "Stephen raised alarm, warning residents about the invasion of our community as he was still outside at the time the herdsmen came to attack the community. The herdsmen instantly shot him and then proceeded to enter one of the houses close to them, where they kidnapped a couple."

These attacks come just one week after Pastor Stephen Akpor was slain while he was praying for and counseling five couples at Breakthrough Cathedral in southern Nigeria.

"The herdsmen shot the pastor several times and then stabbed him to death," said senior church leader, Isaiah George.

Attacks on Nigerian Christians have steadily risen over the past few years.  Almost 1,000 Christian believers were murdered in the country in 2019.

The Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), headed up by a member of the British House of Lords, Baroness Cox, estimates that 6,000 Christians in Nigeria have been murdered since 2015.

Nigeria is ranked 12th on Open Doors' 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.