A pastor has been attacked by Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria – just the latest in a line of violent assaults suffered by Christians in the middle belt of the country.

Ibrahim Maisaje, a pastor at the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), visited his family farm in the village of Panwasa Mada on 26 June. According to a report from World Watch Monitor, he then saw cattle eating his crops.

Upon approaching herdsman, he was slashed with a machete. Fortunately, he was eventually able to overpower the man. The Fulani herdsman and his brother, who owned the cattle, were arrested.

'The father to the two boys accepted the damages and pleaded with me for settlement between me and him,' Maisaje told World Watch Monitor. 'It took the grace of God upon me to forgive the Fulani man for what his children had done to me and my crops.'

Fulani herdsmen are being driven away from the Sahara region by increasing desertification, but that means they often encroach onto land owned by Christian farmers.

Nigeria is broadly split between a Christian south and a Muslim north and there have been frequent violent attacks in the border regions. Last year a pastor in a neighbouring state was hacked to death by herdsmen as he collected wood.

In response to the latest incident, Rev Abel Dauji, the Regional Secretary of ECWA said: 'We encourage our church leaders and members not to recourse to violence and to strive for a peaceful settlement in these issues... Pastor Ibrahim Maisaje acted according to our guidelines. Despite being injured and the damages he sustained, he courageously forgave the herdsmen.'

He said even under these trying circumstances, the pastor was able to show God's love. 'The Fulani community leaders acknowledged that, he reported. 'They said: "We have never seen things like that. You are truly a man of God'. By doing so, it helps to prevent further tensions, which could lead to further damages and eventually the loss of innocent lives."'