Murder of Clergy an Earmark of Islamization
By Ekani Olikita and Mike Odeh James
(Makurdi) It was a Black Thursday for the family of Pastor Philip Onyejefu Oigocho, who was gruesomely murdered by Fulani Islamists on May 1st, 2025.
Pastor Oigocho’s slaying illustrated a grim pattern of murder of Christian faith leaders across Nigeria’s Middle Belt that was denounced by the Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Makurdi, very. Rev. Fr Alfred Chikpa Anagbe in a much-quoted report to the Africa Subcommittee of the U.S. Congress on March 12, 2025.
Bishop Anabe charged that there is a systematic plan to reduce the population Christians and finally eliminate Christianity from Nigeria.
Mr. Judd Saul told Podcaster Lara Logan (Going Rogue with Lara Logan) that when Fulani Ethnic Militias enter a village to wipe out Christian farmer, “the first thing they do is to kill the local pastor and to burn his church.”
“The pattern of killing clerical community leaders across the Middle Belt States is a defining characteristic of Islamization,” according to TruthNigeria managing editor Douglas Burton, a former State Department officer in Iraq. “The Christian community of Northern Iraq suffered an epidemic of murders of clerics by Al Qaeda in Iraq prior to 2014 and after that the same under the rule of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Pastor Philip, a native of Olegodege village in Agatu County, was the Founder and General Overseer of Eagle International Mission with branches in several communities in Benue State and neighboring Nasarawa State.
Philip was gruesomely murdered by well-armed Fulani terrorists, numbering about 10 at about 6:30 pm Nigerian time (17:30 GMT) at the Loko end of the bridge linking Agatu County in Benue State and Loko county in Nasarawa State.
Agatu is an agrarian and a predominantly Christian county with 98% Christian population (80 percent Catholic, 15 percent Methodist and 5 percent other Christian denominations).
Agatu County is located 52 miles (84km) Northwest of Makurdi, the Benue State Capital, 112 miles (181km) South South of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria and it is only separated from Loko in Nasarawa State by River Benue, 2km to the North.
How Pastor Philip was killed
“My brother, Pastor Philip returned home exhausted on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, after spending a week with his congregation at one of his church’s branches at Onyagede community in Benue State and slept till the next morning of Thursday, May 1st, 2025, with a plan of attending an overnight church service at one of the church’s branches at Uhe village in Loko Development Area (county) of Nasarawa State.
“We were to go together but I opted out to attend an important family issue so that I could join him later at Uhe village.
“He took off from home at 6:10 pm, boarded a public vehicle and I then went to the venue where our family meeting was to take place. I left immediately after the meeting to meet up with him at Uhe.
“Towards the Loko end of the bridge, I saw a mammoth crowd gathering with 4 corpses laying in their front. I started praying with trembling voice that my brother shouldn’t be one of the dead bodies as cool and fear started engulfing my body.
“It took me time to go close and when I eventually summoned courage, I identified my brother’s corpse and three others.
My brother was targeted and killed for being a Christian
“One of the Christian eyewitnesses, told me that, about 10 Fulani terrorists who were speaking fulfude and Hausa (local languages commonly spoken by Fulani), chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’, blocked the end of the bridge, stopped the vehicle my brother was, selected the Christian passengers in it and shot them at point-blank. Those that were Muslims were spared.”
Pastor Philip was Monitored and Trailed: Eyewitness
An eyewitness, Paul Danjuma who was at the spot where incident took place, in a phone interview with TruthNigeria said, Pastor Philip was being monitored and trailed by the Fulani Jihadists.
“I was at the endpoint of the bridge, waiting for a vehicle to board to Agatu, suddenly we saw about 10 Fulani Militia, all with automatic weapons, coming out from different angles, blocking the road, shouting “Allahu Akbar” and shooting the passengers they brought out from their vehicles.
“We took to our heels but hiding nearby and watching what was going on. I heard one of attackers asking in Hausa language which I also understand, “Ina Pastor Philip ne” (meaning, where is Pastor Philip?). If he was not being monitored and trailed, how did the Jihadists know, he was in the vehicle”, Paul asked.
Wife of the deceased, Mrs. Rose Philip in a phone interview with TruthNigeria said, “Although the murderers have killed my husband, they have succeeded in making him a martyr, sitting at the right hand of God.”
Attack, kidnapping and killing of Christians in Nigeria have become almost on daily basis without any arrest of the culprits by the government and most of the incidents are not usually reported by the mainstream media in Nigeria.
Ekani Olikita and Mike Odeh James are Conflict Reporters with TruthNigeria
