Central Mosque, Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria. (El-siddeeq lame, Creative Commons)

ABUJA, Nigeria (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Days after Fulani terrorists attacked two predominantly Christian villages in Plateau state, the president of Nigeria pledged to curb violence as church leaders appealed for help over Easter.

An unidentified Christian was said to have been killed in Kwi village, on the outskirts of Barkin Ladi, on April 1.

“A friend of mine from Kwi village in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area just informed me that Kwi community is under attack right now, and they’re currently trapped there,” Jos resident Natoski Dinju told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News on April 1. “He also said one Christian villager has been killed by the herdsmen in the Kwi community.”

Area resident Mahuel Alpha said Kwi and Heipang, also on the outskirts of Barkin Ladi town, were targeted.

“Parts of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area are currently being attacked by armed Fulani herdsmen, and one of the affected communities is the campus of the Plateau State Polytechnic at Heipang,” Alpha said. “The attack is being carried out at about 11 p.m. I am right now in Barkin Ladi town, and I hear sounds of gunshots in the outskirts of the town. Please pray for God’s intervention in this situation.”

Resident Austin Matthew and other residents also said herdsmen were attacking Heipang and Kwi villages. Love Zachariah, a resident of Jos, sent a text message saying her sister, a student at the polytechnic in Heipang, had informed her about the attack.

“My younger sister just called me this night and said the attack on them in the institution is getting worse,” Zacharia said.

Jennifer Jacob, a Christian student of the Plateau State Polytechnic, added, “Please pray for us, the situation here is terrible.”

The attacks in Barkin Ladi came on the heels of violence earlier on the morning of on April 1 in Jos, shortly after a 48-hour curfew was lifted. Suspected herdsmen attacked a worship building of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in the Nasarawa Gwong area, while others attacked the Farin Gada area, sources said.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu issued an Easter-related statement on Friday (April 3) admitting security challenges in the country and promising to do more to curb attacks.

“To Christians in Nigeria and around the world, the Easter season reminds us of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the redemptive power of salvation for humanity,” Tinubu said. “This season also reminds us of the significance of Easter and the message it embodies – of sacrifice, resilience and the triumph of light over darkness.”

His administration continues to make resources available and forges foreign partnerships to enable it to combat agents of terror and crime, he said.

“On Thursday [April 2], I was in Jos to commiserate with people of Plateau state, share in their grief, and offer reassurances of better days to come,” Tinubu said. “The leaders of the nation’s security institutions have given strong assurances of progress. We have also sought and are receiving assistance from outside our shores.”

Easter messages from church leaders made urgent appeals for help. Leaders of the Universal Reformed Christian Church (NKST) issued a statement on April 1 saying Easter elicited mixed feelings.

“While we celebrate, we cannot ignore the painful realities confronting many Christian communities, particularly in North Central Nigeria,” the Rev. N.A. Adure, NKST president, and the Rev. T.A. Targba, general secretary, said in press statement. “We strongly condemn the recent killings in Angwa Rukuba in Plateau state.”

Such unprovoked attacks are unacceptable and have no place in a civilized society, they said.

“We also draw urgent attention to the continued suffering of NKST churches,” the church leader said. “Several members have been killed, many others wounded, and churches destroyed, especially in Taraba and Benue states. These attacks, reportedly carried out by Fulani terrorists and their sponsors, are deeply troubling and must not be allowed to persist as we also demand for justice for our people.”

While acknowledging the efforts of the government in addressing insecurity, they said more needs to be done.

“The government must be proactive, decisive and relentless in going after these criminals,” they said. “The ongoing injustice against the body of Christ must stop…Even in the face of these challenges, we hold on to the message of Easter – hope, renewal and victory. We believe that light will overcome darkness, and peace will prevail in our land.”

Leaders of the Forum of Northern Christians, also known as the Northern Christian Association, decried recent attacks in Jos and parts of Kaduna state on Palm Sunday that resulted in the death of dozens of Christians and left many others injured.

The Rev. Joseph Hayab and Bishop Mohammed Naga of the association said in a statement issued on Friday (April 3) that Easter was being observed under an atmosphere of grief and fear.

“Instead of joy and spiritual reflection, many communities across northern Nigeria are marking this Easter in grief, uncertainty, and under the shadow of recurring violence,” they said.

The Christian leaders noted that attacks in Jos North Local Government Area and surrounding communities resulted in the loss of innocent lives and displacement of residents as preparations for Easter were underway.

Several states, including Benue, Borno, Niger and Taraba, continue to grapple with killings, abductions and widespread insecurity, they noted.

“The recurrence of these attacks during sacred periods raises serious concerns about the adequacy of security measures and the ability of authorities to protect citizens at such critical times,” they said. “We call on the Federal Government and all security agencies to go beyond mere condemnation and take decisive, sustained action to break this cycle of violence and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.”

More Christians were killed in Nigeria than in any other country from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025, according to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List. Of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during that period, 3,490 – 72 percent – were Nigerians, an increase from 3,100 the prior year. Nigeria ranked No. 7 on the WWL list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report.

“They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.

Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.

In the country’s North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militia attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, Christians above all, according to the report. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the country’s northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings, according to the report. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years.

The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, the WWL noted. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali.

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