An imam who helped hundreds of Christian farmers survive a coordinated attack by Muslim herdsmen was honored by the U.S. government for his heroic act.
Abubakar Abdullahi, 86, saved 262 Christian farmers from 10 villages in the Barkin Ladi area of Plateau State, Central Nigeria. The farmers were fleeing an attack from Fulani herders in June 2018.
More than 80 people were killed and several houses burned down in the villages during the attack.
The Muslim leader hid the Christian farmers in his home and mosque.
Tensions over farming and grazing land turned violent with revenge attacks in the middle belt region of the West African country.
This incident highlights the growing demand for fertile land exacerbated by climate change and a population boom.
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Abdullahi was among five religious leaders from Sudan, Iraq, Brazil, and Cyprus who were awarded the 2019 the International Religious Freedom Award, which is given to advocates of religious freedom.
“(The imam) stood outside the doors confronting the Muslim attackers, pleading with them to spare the lives of the Christians inside, even offering to exchange his own life for theirs,” Sam Brownback, the International Religious Freedom Ambassador, said at the awards ceremony in Washington.
“His actions bear witness to true courage, true selflessness, and true brotherly love.”
The conflict in Nigeria’s middle belt region between mostly Christian farmers and Muslim herders is said to be deadlier than that of the Boko Haram insurgency in the north of the country on the border with Niger.
