Nigerian Christians once again face threats of deadly attacks during Christmas

A US-based humanitarian organization has issued a grave warning that armed groups are planning coordinated attacks against Christian communities in northern Nigeria during the Christmas period.

The non-profit organization, Equipping the Persecuted, provides essential support and resources specifically to persecuted Christians in Nigeria and around the world.

Concerns about possible Christmas Day attacks

Judd Saul, the founder of Equipping the Persecuted, says he has privileged information that there are plots by terrorists and bandits to attack rural communities in the councils and kill as many people as possible on Christmas Day.

“They are gathering forces around the Plateau and Nasarawa border, along the Nasarawa-Benue border, and along the Nasarawa-Kaduna border. They are planning to hit on Christmas Day in Riyom, Bokkos, and Barkin Ladi,” Saul said during an Emergency Summit on Crimes against Christians that was held at the US Capitol on Tuesday, December 16.

Convened by the International Committee on Nigeria and the African Jewish Alliance, the summit featured political leaders and experts on persecution, and they discussed statistics documenting the scope of Christian persecution worldwide and the efforts to combat it.

“We got very reliable information that they are weaponizing for a Christmas Day massacre. I am imploring the Nigerian government and President Donald Trump to do something so we don’t have a bunch of dead Christians in Nigeria,” said Saul.

While Nigeria’s Presidency has publicly downplayed the threat, its own National Security Adviser has secretly called for heightened vigilance, acknowledging elevated risks.

The warning carries terrifying weight, following a pattern of brutal holiday massacres. Last year, Fulani militants killed eleven Christians in Benue State on Christmas morning.

The year before, a 2023 Christmas Eve attack in the Plateau State left over 140 dead and 300 injured. These are not isolated incidents, but part of a haunting history of Boko Haram and other groups targeting worshippers on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar.

“They [are] planning another Christmas massacre,” Saul warned.

The Summit also saw the participation of Franc Utu, a researcher at the University of Central Oklahoma and a former principal special assistant to the Benue state governor, who was introduced as a “survivor of Fulani violence.”

He provided insights into the June massacre in Yelwata, during which at least 200 people were killed.

“I come from Yelwata, the epicenter of the June 13 and 14 massacres this year, 2025. I come from Benue state, which is a food basket of Nigeria, but unfortunately has turned into the graveyard of Nigeria,” Utu said.

“My village, Yelwata, was attacked on June 13 and 14, starting from 9 p.m. on June 13 to 1 a.m. on June 14 by Islamic jihadists. This is one of so many attacks. For the past 10 years, we have lived as a village that is constantly attacked by these jihadists every month.”

He said the June massacre was particularly disarming, given the sheer number of victims involved.

“Within four hours, 278 of my kinsmen were obliterated in the most horrific way. They weren’t just shot. Many were gruesomely slaughtered.”

Climate of fear grips the nation

Evidence on the ground suggests that a repeat of past massacres could take place in Nigeria, especially during this festive period, when many would have let their guard.

“Based on what I’ve been observing on the ground, the concern raised by the CEO of Equipping the Persecuted should be taken seriously,” said Emeka Umeagbalasi, the Director of the Catholic NGO, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety, referring to the American’s warning about the possibility of Christmas Day attacks against Christians.

He told CWR that he was even more concerned that such warnings would not trigger any consciousness within Nigeria’s security apparatus, repeating accusations that the security forces are complicit in the killing of Christians in Nigeria.

“The Nigerian security forces have become so woefully incompetent that they now function like civil society groups or watchdog organizations. Their role has been reduced to raising alarms, confirming incidents, carrying corpses, and evacuating the wounded in the aftermath of attacks,” he told CWR.

“Even if you give them 20 preemptive intelligence reports, they are not ready to respond to any of them,” he stated. “Every day, we continue to receive a disturbing report of conspiracy, of sabotage, of complicity, of aiding and abetting in the hands of security forces and their handlers.”

So deep is the uncertainty that the prevailing mood in the country is one of fear-the fear of the unknown.

“The mood out here is very, very scary. Everybody’s afraid,” Umeagbalasi said.

“Almost all the roads around Nigeria are death traps. They are under siege by jihadists, Fulani herdsmen, and others. There is no part of the country that you want to travel to now that you can travel safely…”

Okocha Otoogi, a lay Christian in Plateau State, called on the youths to “be on alert to defend their community.”

“Prayers won’t work without battle in such circumstances,” he said.

“Our God that we serve will not allow us to be killed like chickens,” said lay believer, Gabriel Gyang Ishaya.

“If God allows us to be killed, then it means He wants us to go and rest with Him in heaven,” he added.

Staggering statistics of persecution

The chilling warning that Nigerian Christians could again be visited by “rivers of blood,” a phrase famously used by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese, is particularly stark on Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Christ.

This serves as a grim reminder of the mayhem Nigerian Christians have suffered since 2009, when the Boko Haram terrorist organization began its murderous campaign to establish a caliphate across the Sahel.

Intersociety reports that since then, at least 185,000 people have been killed for their faith in Nigeria, including 125,000 Christians and 60,000 nonviolent Muslims.

In addition, 19,100 churches have been burned to the ground, and 1,100 entire Christian communities seized and occupied by jihadist forces allegedly backed or protected by the government.  The statistics further reveal that 600 clerics were abducted and dozens had been killed or had vanished within the reporting period, while some 15 million people have been forced to flee from their homes.

Jihadist dens discovered in Enugu

The fear that Christmas cheer could turn to mayhem has been strengthened by the discovery of over 20 jihadist dens in the communities of Ezeagu, Enugu State.

According to researchers from the Intersociety, these camps are highly organized, following a six-layered structure. The report alleges that each layer is coordinated by an “alhaji” who is also a member of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACABAN), an organization the report claims is protected by the Nigerian security forces. These coordinators are reportedly placed in charge of vast forest areas, allowing their herds to roam freely and destroy lives, property, and livelihoods with impunity.

Intersociety states that the jihadist operations are coordinated from a headquarters along the Ajali River and its valley, with activities spreading to at least 14 affected communities. The most severely impacted villages are said to be Imezi-Owa, Agu-obu-Owa, Olo, Mgbagbu-Owa, and Oghe. The organization further alleged that the main camp is headquartered in Agu-obu-Owa, dangerously close to a local secondary school.

This situation has had severe environmental and economic consequences, particularly for communities that have long depended on the Ajali River. Intersociety highlighted the river’s former glory, noting it was once one of the cleanest sources of drinking water in the Southeast and has been the foundation for Enugu and Ebonyi State water schemes since the 1980s.

The area was also home to one of the region’s largest cashew industries and a thriving cassava trade. The fertile farmlands along the river produced cassava in industrial quantities, supplying the once-bustling Eke-Abonuzu, which was the largest cassava market in Enugu State in the 1980s.

The organization reports that this vibrant economic hub has been decimated. The Ajali River and its surroundings have been “desecrated by jihadist mayhem” since 2010, and the great cassava market is now a “shadow of itself,” destroying the livelihoods it once supported.

A country of “particular concern”

Attacks on Nigerian Christians have been so frequent and so intense that the Trump administration in October 2025 redesignated the African nation as a Country of Particular Concern, saying that it was engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.

President Trump alleged that Nigeria was carrying out genocide against Christians, with extremist groups like Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen among the over 20 jihadist groups carrying out atrocities against Christians and moderate Muslims.

The first Trump administration conferred CPC status on Nigeria in 2020, but in November 2021, the Biden administration inexplicably removed the designation, earning severe criticism from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

The recent designation could allow the US government to use various tools to call the Nigerian government to account, including targeted sanctions, restrictions on aid, and diplomatic pressure to address the situation.

Already, Trump has threatened military action against Nigeria if the country’s government fails to take steps to stem the persecution of Christians.

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