Nigerian Christians Massacred on Palm Sunday

“I will be attending mourning today,” said a local Nigerian Catholic from Jos State, where Holy Week was transformed into a week of mourning for Christians killed by Islamists on Palm Sunday.

On the evening of March 29, 2026, terrorists attacked the Angwan Rukuba area of Jos, Plateau State. Gunmen riding motorcycles shot an unspecified number of youths. “The attackers just rode past and started shooting sporadically. People were running in different directions,” said one resident. A humanitarian worker confirmed at least 10 dead, while another report placed the figure at 15.

Official figures have not been released, and no group has claimed responsibility. Accounts differ on the identity of the attackers, with one resident identifying them as Boko Haram and another describing them as Fulani militia who fired on residents before retreating toward nearby mountainous areas.

The Plateau State Government imposed a 48-hour curfew in Jos North Local Government Area from midnight March 29 through April 1, 2026. Three suspects were arrested. Governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the attack and said the government is working with federal authorities.

However, local Christians are growing wary of the government’s empty promises as the massacres continue. In many attacks over the past year, residents notified police or military forces that either failed to arrive or were delayed until the killings had ended.

The Palm Sunday attack followed a series of attacks one week earlier in Kwara State. On March 22, armed men stormed the ECWA church in Omugo, Oro-Ago, during the morning worship service. Bible study had ended at 9:30 a.m., and the main service had begun when, at 10:10 a.m., eight hooded attackers were sighted approximately one kilometer away, shooting into the air and advancing on the church. The congregation of more than 60 fled in every direction.

Eight worshippers were abducted, including the pastor’s wife, Mrs. Remilekun Omole, along with Chief David Afolayan, Chief Joseph Ibitoye Afariogun, Mr. Joshua Akanbi Adeyemi, Mrs. Rachel Omopariola, Mrs. Mosúnmọ́lá Afolayan, Mrs. Bukola Sunday, and Mrs. Anti. A 90-year-old blind woman, Rachel Ifabiyi, was beaten and left in the bush. Police arrived approximately 40 minutes later, despite the station being six kilometers away.

A source from the Kwara South Joint Security Watch noted that the church is less than two kilometers from a military base and questioned how the attack occurred. The attack took place hours after the Joint Security Watch had issued a warning of imminent attacks on communities in Ifelodun, Irepodun, and Isin local government areas.

A woman in her 70s described how one of the attackers grabbed her hand as she fled. She shouted “Jesus save me” twice, and he released her both times, taking only her bag containing her offering and Bible, which local hunters later recovered intact from the forest.

The kidnappers demanded ₦1 billion (approximately $721,000 USD) to be raised collectively from the Oro-Ago community. They rejected an initial offer of ₦1 million and warned against negotiating for a lesser sum. On the same day as the church attack, nine worshippers were abducted from two churches in nearby Eruku, Kwara State. On March 23, an IED bombing struck Woro in western Kwara State, killing eight people. Woro was the same location where Boko Haram abducted 176 women and children on February 14, 2026.

On March 25, gunmen returned to Oro-Ago, killing a local vigilante commander, a hunter serving as a community security guard who was on active duty when a gang of six gunmen targeted him, and attacking the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps office. Often referred to as “vigilantes” in Nigeria, these armed civilians patrol villages to deter theft, kidnappings, and attacks and are frequently targeted by insurgents.

By March 29, Omugo had been largely abandoned, with residents fleeing their homes. The ECWA Joint District Church Councils in Kwara reported that more than a dozen churches had been forced to shut down across the region due to persistent security threats.

The Palm Sunday attack follows last year’s Palm Sunday attack that killed 54 people in Plateau State, along with a series of attacks in January and February 2026 that left dozens dead in the neighboring local government areas of Mangu and Bokkos. Release International has warned that Christian death tolls in Nigeria could double in 2026, noting that in the first 220 days of 2025, more than 7,000 Christians were killed in the country.

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