Less than two weeks before Christmas last year, a 15-year-old girl, Endurance Sabon, had her hand cut off after her family rejected a forced marriage proposal by Islamist Fulani herdsmen in Kaduna State, Nigeria.
The attack occurred while she, her mother, and relatives were farming. According to the family, the attackers lived nearby and were known to them. They ambushed the group at approximately 6:30 p.m. after trailing them through the bush from the farm. The men shone a torchlight to identify Endurance, then dragged her into the forest, where they cut off her hand.
The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria formally condemned the attack, calling it a violation of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, the Child Rights Act, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Nigeria’s Middle Belt, including Plateau and Kaduna states, forms the fault line between the predominantly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south. Violence in this region is largely driven by Fulani militant groups and herdsmen pushing into Christian farming communities along this religious and ethnic boundary, creating a sustained frontier conflict over land and resources.
The motivations behind these attacks are a mix of ethnic, economic, and territorial disputes, with an Islamist dimension that varies by incident. In some cases, these groups are armed by or coordinated with jihadist networks. Written evidence submitted by Open Doors UK & Ireland to theUK Parliamentdocuments links between jihadist networks and local militias, including the supply of weapons and the spread of radical ideology.
Plateau State has become one of the deadliest places in the world for Christians. According to the Open DoorsWorld Watch List, 546 Christians were killed in Plateau State in the most recent reporting year, compared with 48 Muslims.
The violence has continued into 2026. On Palm Sunday 2026, gunmen stormed theUngwan Rukuba community, in Jos, Plateau State around 8 p.m., killing at least 27–30 residents, with the Christian Association of Nigeria noting the attackers wore uniforms resembling those of Nigerian security forces. Between April 3 and 11, 2026, Fulani terrorists killed eight more Christians acrossRiyom and Barkin Ladicounties.
In a separate incident in far-off Borno State, fighters of Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) attacked theNgoshe communityin Gwoza Local Government Area on March 4, 2026.
Borno State is the historical heartland of Boko Haram, which was founded in Maiduguri in the early 2000s. JAS is the original Boko Haram faction and a rival to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) splinter group.
They overran a military base, the 82 Division Task Force Battalion under the 26 Brigade. The attackers burned armored tanks and vehicles and seized ammunition. They then advanced on anIDP campin the community.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
