Christians in Nasarawa Block Highway after Fulani Militia Kill Three

In response, hundreds of enraged residents — chiefly Christians — took to the streets, barricading the busy Makurdi–Lafia–Abuja Federal Highway for more than three hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:40 am, halting vehicular movement and causing massive gridlock until the military intervened to restore order

Sarkin Noma in Kadarko Precinct, is agrarian and a predominantly Christian community (made up 85 percent Catholic), located 35 km south of Lafia, the Nasarawa State Capital and 15 km north of Yelewata town in Benue State.  As TruthNigeria reported, Yelewata was devastated by an attack of 150 mercenaries that murdered 258 people during the early morning hours of June 14, many of them burned to death in their lodgings.

The Attack and the Battling Narratives

According to eyewitness accounts, at about 12:05 a.m. Friday, scores of heavily armed Fulani jihadists chanting “Allahu Akbar” stormed Sarkin Noma, firing sporadically and attacking homes. Two residents were killed on the spot, while several others sustained severe gunshot and machete wounds. One elder was abducted during the raid and later found dead, bringing the total death toll to three.

Victims are currently receiving treatment in various health facilities across Keana and neighboring communities.

The bloody assault came  just days after Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule publicly denied the existence of religious persecution or Christian genocide in Nigeria, describing such claims as “false and misleading.”

Security analysts, human rights advocates, and political figures—including former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, Franc Utoo, an Oklahoma-based indigene of Yelewata, and Prof. Zakary Gundu of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria—have accused Governor Sule of harboring Fulani militia groups in Nasarawa State.

They allege that the state has become a strategic launchpad for cross-border terrorist attacks across North-Central Nigeria, citing the existence of known Fulani militant camps in the region.

Mass Protests Along Makurdi–Lafia Highway

Friday’s shutdown of the Makurdi–Lafia highway was not an isolated incident. Similar road blockades have occurred multiple times this year following attacks on Christian communities along the route:

·     July 30, 2025: Displaced Yelewata residents blocked the same highway to protest Fulani killings.

·     August 11, 2025: Yelewata women chased away security forces after the killing of three Christians by Fulani terrorists.

·     September 20, 2025: Protesters once again shut down the Federal Highway demanding government protection.

The recurring protests highlight rising frustration and despair among rural Christian communities across Nasarawa and Benue, who accuse the government of indifference toward their plight.

In a phone interview with TruthNigeria, Stephen Ogu Iliya, the Sarkin Noma Youth Leader, expressed deep anger and grief over the repeated assaults and government silence.

“About 50 armed Fulani jihadists invaded our community around midnight, speaking Fufulde and chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they shot and macheted our people,” he said.

“We found two dead bodies this morning and later discovered the corpse of our elder who was abducted. Many others are critically injured. We blocked the road to draw the attention of both Federal and State governments—and even the international community—to our suffering. Our people can no longer go to farms or markets for fear of being killed or kidnapped. We need urgent intervention.”

Ogu lamented that the government’s failure to dislodge armed Fulani camps around their community has emboldened the attackers and worsened insecurity.

Among the protesters was Mrs. Asebe, who lost her only brother in the attack. Speaking through an interpreter, she narrated her ordeal with tears.

“Fulani terrorists have killed my only brother—the person helping me survive. My husband was killed by the same people last year on his farm. What should I live for now?” she wept. “I have lost everything,” Asebe said. Her story mirrors the pain of countless women widowed by years of relentless violence in central Nigeria.

“We No Longer Sleep with Our Eyes Closed” — Elderly Resident

A 75-year-old resident, Mama Naomi, described the community’s constant fear and suffering.

“Every month, Fulani people attack us at least three times—stealing our property, raping our daughters, and killing our men. Many women in Sarkin Noma are widows because their husbands were slaughtered by Fulani militia,” she lamented.

“They even rob us on the road when we go to the market. They have camps around our village. We are begging the government to send them away so that we can have peace.”

The attacks on Sarkin Noma add to the growing wave of violence targeting Christian farming communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where thousands have been killed and displaced over the past decade.

Despite repeated promises by authorities, little progress has been made in curbing the menace of Fulani Ethnic Militia, who are often described by victims as “terrorist herdsmen,” concealing that they are Fulani Ethnic Militia, who have been identified as the lethal terrorist force that has murdered three times as many unarmed Christians as Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) combined.

Analysts warn that the escalating violence could further destabilize the region if decisive action is not taken.