Persecution in Nigeria

Catholic World News reports that 18 Nigerian Christians were killed Tuesday morning by Muslim herdsmen (with my emphases):

Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacked four non-Muslim villages in central Nigeria on January 10 and 11, killing 18 and burning down a church and over a dozen houses. Soldiers reportedly collaborated in the attack.

“The dramatic news from Nigeria, where once again innocent lives have been destroyed by attacks targeting the Christian community, shows that the phenomenon of religious intolerance is widespread and of a vast scale,” said Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini.

“The attackers used weapons including guns, machetes, daggers, bows and arrows to attack their victims who were reportedly taken unawares,” according to a Nigerian press account.

Attacks on Christians in Jos on Christmas Eve claimed the lives of 84.

15% of Nigeria’s 146.5 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics. 25% are Protestant, 50% are Muslim, and 10% retain indigenous beliefs.