Christians massacred on Palm Sunday as attacks escalate in Nigeria

Gunmen killed at least a dozen people at a bar in the city of Jos in Nigeria on Palm Sunday and a retaliatory mob killed at least 10 others, as attacks on Christian communities across the country’s Middle Belt and north intensified through the week. #Nigeria #Jos #PalmSundayAttack #NigeriaMiddleBelt #BokoHaram #FulaniHerdsmen #Lakurawa #Jihad #Terror

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Christians massacred on Palm Sunday as attacks escalate in Nigeria
By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, April 01, 2026

Funeral of Christians killed on Aug. 28, 2025, in Kauru County, Kaduna state, Nigeria. | Iliya Tata for Christian Daily International-Morning Star News

Gunmen killed at least a dozen people at a bar in the city of Jos in Nigeria on Palm Sunday and a retaliatory mob killed at least 10 others, as attacks on Christian communities across the country’s Middle Belt and north intensified through the week.
The shooting took place around 8 p.m. local time on Sunday in the Anguwan Rukuba neighborhood of Jos North district, Plateau State, when unidentified gunmen opened fire at a popular bar-cum-restaurant, Open Doors U.K. reported, citing the Plateau State Red Cross.

Plateau State Red Cross Secretary Nurudeen Hussaini Magaji confirmed at least 12 people died at the scene.
Local youth leader Mangalle Idris told AFP that a mob then formed and “attacked people that were either passing or doing business,” killing an estimated 10 individuals. Jos North Deputy Council leader Kabiru Sani put the combined toll at 27.
Open Doors reported that 14 died at the scene and 13 others died at a local hospital, for a total of 27, while Arise TV cited a figure of at least 40 killed in Anguwan Rukuba. The state government, which ordered a 48-hour curfew in Jos North through Wednesday, said investigations were ongoing without confirming a death toll or naming suspects.
Plateau State Governor Caleb Manasseh Muftwang condemned the “barbaric and unprovoked attack,” saying all necessary measures were being taken to apprehend those responsible.
No group has claimed responsibility, while social media posts blamed Fulani Muslim herders or rural criminal gangs.
Truth Nigeria attributed the attack to the Boko Haram terrorist group; the claim had not been verified by the Nigerian military as of Wednesday.
The same night, gunmen raided a wedding in Kahir village in Kagarko County, southern Kaduna State, killing at least 13 people and abducting several guests around 11:47 p.m., according to Truth Nigeria.
Kagarko is a predominantly Christian area of southern Kaduna.

Earlier in the week, radical Fulani militia attacked St. James the Great Catholic Church in Adu, Takum District, Taraba State, breaking windows, ransacking parish buildings and damaging the rectory.
Judd Saul, founder of Equipping The Persecuted, was quoted as saying that more than 90,000 Christians in Takum District fled as militants pushed further into southern Taraba.
Truth Nigeria said it had issued threat advisories on March 10 and March 21, both of which authorities ignored.
Last Monday, a bomb blast believed to have been caused by an improvised explosive device struck a village near Woro in Kaiama district, Kwara State, killing at least one person and injuring several others.
The state had already suffered a February massacre that killed more than 160 people.
Last Tuesday, terrorists from Lakurawa, a jihadist militia that now allegedly controls more than half of Kebbi State’s 21 counties, lured troops responding to a distress call into an ambush in Kebbi State, killing nine soldiers, a police officer and a civilian.
Also last Tuesday, armed Fulani militia killed six residents and burned homes in a community in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, less than 20 miles from Abuja. Security experts were quoted as saying that the assault likely points to coordination between Fulani militia and insurgents such as the Islamic State of West Africa.
Nigeria now ranks fourth on the Global Terrorism Index and recorded the largest increase in terrorism-related deaths of any country globally in 2025, with fatalities rising 46%.