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Seminarian in Nigeria Narrowly Escapes Shooting by Islamist Fulani Attackers

Seminarian David Igba during a pastoral visit at Scared Heart Udei of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi. Credit: David Igba

Monday, August 21, David Igba, a Seminarian at Sacred Heart Udei Parish of Nigeria's Catholic Diocese of Makurdi stared death in the face when he encountered armed Fulani herdsmen.

A car that the Seminarian with Via Christi Society was traveling in with two other people was sprayed with bullets by a group of gun-wielding Fulani herders in the late morning incident.

Seminarian David told ACI Africa that the incident at a bridge linking Udei to Makurdi market happened while running an errand for Fr. Jacob Igah, the Priest in charge of the Nigerian Catholic Parish that continues to experience incessant attacks by Fulani herdsmen.

“It was around 11:30 in the morning. I had just left the parish and was headed to Makurdi market to print out some documents for Fr. Jacob. In the car, there was Fr. Jacob’s cook, the driver and myself. As we approached the bridge that links Udei to Makurdi, we saw people running ahead of our car. They had a large herd of cattle going ahead of them,” Seminarian David said in the Wednesday, August 23 interview with ACI Africa.

The Nigerian Seminarian continued, “As we approached the men, we kept talking, hoping that the men weren't Fulanis because we know what they are capable of. They kept running. I think they thought that we were soldiers. When they realized that we were not soldiers, they started shooting after our car.”

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He says that it is a miracle that he, and the other two occupants of the car survived the ordeal, and adds, “I was very scared. The killings here are too much. I have lost many relations to the Fulani herdsmen but that was the closest I came so close to death at the hands of their hands. I kept praying that God would protect us.”

The Seminarian who just completed his eight-month pastoral experience at Sacred Heart Udei Parish finds inspiration to continue with the journey to become a Priest from his daily encounters with people who he says have lost everything to the Islamist Fulanis.

“As much as the killings go on, I believe that God has His own way of saving His people and that Christianity will always rise beyond everything that threatens it. I also believe that in God's appointed time, all these killers will experience conversion and they will stop all this cruelty. This is what keeps me going,” he says.

The Seminarian at St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Makurdi recounts his constant message to the people of God he visited in the villages served by Sacred Heart Udei Parish. “My message, as I looked at them beaten and without hope, was simple. Do not lose hope, I told them. Do not stop praying. I saw that all of them were tired of running.”

He said that most of those living in the villages that are under siege had already abandoned their villages and are living in a state of despair. 

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“They don't go to church anymore. They see no reason to. But I kept reminding them that the situation they are in now will pass,” Seminarian David told ACI Africa on August 23.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.