YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – While the world looks away, a devastating genocide is unfolding in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Armed Fulani herdsmen have launched a brutal attack on St. Paul’s Parish in Aye-Twar (Agu Centre) in Benue State, completely destroying the church and forcing an entire community to flee for their lives.

Father Benjamin Versue, a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Katsina-Ala, said the Church which he helped to build had been destroyed by Fulani herdsmen.

“St. Paul’s Parish Ayetwar rectory which I sacrificed everything to build was set ablaze by Fulanis Jihadists yesterday [Tuesday night]. The Church windows were broken and the people successfully sacked from their ancestral homes,” the priest said on Aug. 13.

The herdsmen swooped into the Parish premises on Monday night breaking Tuesday, and burned down the rectory, he explained, and accused the Nigerian military of complicity.

He said the military had disarmed locals, rendering them defenseless, while at the same time allowing the armed men to storm the community “equipped with logistics and high-level intelligence provided by military personnel,” enabling them to kill unarmed civilians in their sleep.

“So interesting to see Nigeria, the so-called giant of Africa with a dwarf military. No wonder the cries of the people echo through the land, as the Fulani invaders equipped with logistic and high-level intelligence provided by the military personnel, attack and slaughter unarmed civilians in their sleep leaving a trail of blood flowing like a river,” the priest said. “Justice, integrity, dignity, humanity, lost in the fray, a nation’s future, uncertain, each passing day.”

Benue State continues to grapple with recurring violence linked to armed herdsmen, with rural communities often bearing the brunt of the attacks.

The Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests’ Association (NCDPA) of Katsina-Ala Diocese has described the assault as a “genocidal assault” on both the Church and the wider community.

According to Father Samuel Fila, Chairman of NCDPA, the armed group completely shut down the parish, destroying the church, burning the rectory to ashes, vandalizing the parish secretariat, and demolishing pastoral vehicles, household items, and other valuables.

Experts say the attack is part of a coordinated campaign that has already claimed over 7,000 Christian lives in Nigeria this year alone, with the Director of the Catholic–inspired International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Emeka Umeagbalasi, predicting that Christianity could be wiped out from Nigeria by 2075.

A report released by Intersociety on August 10, 2025, documents the killing of 7,087 Christians throughout Nigeria during the initial 220 days of 2025, averaging approximately 32 Christian deaths daily. The same report indicates that 7,899 additional individuals were abducted specifically due to their Christian faith.

These violent acts are attributed to approximately 22 jihadist organizations that have established operations within the West African country. According to the report, these groups harbor ambitions to exterminate an estimated 112 million Christians and 13 million followers of traditional religions, with particular focus on the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria.

The document further suggests that the primary objective is to eradicate Christianity from Nigeria within the next five decades. This goal draws parallels to the 19th-century jihad conducted by Fulani herdsmen, which resulted in the creation of the Sokoto Caliphate—an influential Islamic state that governed extensive territories in what now constitutes northern Nigeria. Presently, the Sultan of Sokoto continues to hold the position of Nigeria’s foremost Islamic religious leader.

According to Intersociety’s data, since 2009, approximately 185,009 Nigerians have been killed, including 125,009 Christians and 60,000 “liberal Muslims.”

And critics have pointed out that the country’s military, charged with the task of protecting its citizens, has largely stood by and watched as Christians are being killed.

“That the Nigerian military cooperates with the jihadists is nothing new,” said Umeagbalassi.

“What we have in Nigeria is a jihadist military,” he told Crux, explaining that when the military isn’t just standing by and watching as terrorists attack Christian communities, it is actively participating in such attacks. He cited a January 7, 2017 Amnesty International report which accused the military of attacking the Christian-dominated area of Numan in Adamawa State.

“While the military aircraft were bombing the Christian villagers, killing many, ground forces reportedly targeted those attempting to escape,” he explained.

“In a later statement, the military claimed that the attack killing over 80 Christians occurred because the villagers were mistaken for Boko Haram militants,” Umeagbalasi told Crux.

He also recalled a similar incident on August 18, 2024, when the military stormed three Catholic parishes in Umunze, a community in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, along with an Anglican church and several Pentecostal centers.

The soldiers said they were looking for a gunman who had attacked one of theirs, but Umeagbalassi couldn’t come to terms with the fact that the military could disrupt services in several churches, including Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Saint James Anglican Church and several Pentecostal churches, looking only for a single gunman who did not kill a soldier in church.

Franc Utoo, former Principal Special Assistant to former Governor Samuel Ortom, now based in the United States, said the military failure may be deliberate.

“The military has been infiltrated,” he claimed in a statement, alleging that Fulanis in the military have a culture of feeding the jihadist herdsmen with military intelligence.

Ordinary people have their idea of what should be done to the military. James Itoh, a Nigerian Catholic based in Benue state told Crux that “the military should be withdrawn from communities and replaced with civil defense – the vigilantes.”

“We cannot continue dealing with a corrupt and compromised military,” he asserted.

In May, President Bola Tinubu urged the Nigerian military to step up efforts against insecurity, saying that this is critical to the country’s democracy and economic prosperity.

“Your efforts in wrapping up our onslaught against the enemies of our collective progress are not only critical to our strategic objectives but also vital in restoring the trust and confidence of the people to thrive and prosper,” the president said.

“You must, therefore, step up and intensify your efforts at conclusively ending the multi-dimensional security challenges facing our dear country.”