JOHANNESBURG — A chilling attack during Holy Week in Nigeria’s predominantly Christian town has left 28 people dead, stirring apprehensions of further violence targeting Christians as the Easter weekend looms.
The assault took place on Palm Sunday in Angwan Rukuba, located in the Jos District of Plateau State. Witnesses reported that several armed assailants shouted a Muslim proclamation while indiscriminately firing at residents in the Christian-majority area.
“The attackers arrived in a military-like fashion, firing randomly while chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Arabic for ‘God is great’),” a field worker recounted to the aid organization Voice of the Martyrs from the scene. “The community is predominantly Christian,” the worker added.
Henrietta Blyth, the CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland, shared with Fox News Digital that there are rising concerns about potential attacks on Christians in Nigeria during this Easter period.
“Such tragic incidents are unfortunately common in Plateau State and across many parts of northern Nigeria,” Blyth remarked. “These attacks frequently occur on significant Christian holidays. Many still recall the catastrophic Christmas Eve attacks in 2023 in Benue State, which claimed over 140 lives.”
“And too often they can occur on Christian holy days like this. Indeed, people in the region will remember the devastating 2023 Christmas Eve attacks in Benue state that killed over 140 people.”
Police officers gather at the site of Sunday night’s terrorist attack in Gari Ya Waye community in Jos North, Nigeria, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Samson Omale)
U.S. Principal Adviser for Global Religious Freedom Mark Walker called on Nigerian authorities to increase security to protect Christians. He posted on X, “We call on the Nigerian government to significantly ramp up security for Christians ahead of and during Easter. We recognize and appreciate the steps the government of Nigeria has taken to improve security, however, the targeted killing of Christians, especially on Christian holidays, is unacceptable. We urge the Nigerian leadership to engage and to do so now.”
Nigeria is ranked the seventh-worst country in the world for Christian persecution by Open Doors. The organization claims it accounts for 72% of the total number of Christian killings worldwide in 2025.
A local human rights lawyer who asked to conceal his name due to security fears, was nearby when the Palm Sunday attack happened. He told Fox News Digital, “A group of people came, around 20, some on motorcycles, and started shooting.”
He added the area is essentially a Christian one “and for anybody to go and openly shoot at people, then it must be that that person had Christians in mind.”
Funerals for some 27 Christians who were reportedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in the village of Bindi Ta-hoss, Nigeria, July, 28, 2025 (Courtesy: Christian Solidarity International )
Another local Christian resident, who also asked to withhold his name, told Fox News Digital, “I can assure you that the majority position among Christians in Nigeria is that what we are experiencing in Nigeria is Islamic expansionism, and it must be stopped, using whatever means is necessary.”
The human rights lawyer said there are reports of videos circulating that are threatening more attacks against Christians, adding, “Here in Jos in Nigeria, we say that there is no Christian holiday or event left on the Christian calendar that has escaped an attack by radical Islamists or terrorists in Nigeria, whether it is Christmas, Easter or Good Friday, Palm Sunday or Sunday services or whatever. We are trapped.”
Christians hold signs as they march on the streets of Abuja during a prayer and penance for peace and security in Nigeria in Abuja March 1, 2020. (Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Todd Nettleton of the Voice of the Martyrs’ group said that, in countries like Nigeria, “Easter is often a season of peril. Holy days on the Christian calendar, including Christmas and Easter, are often times when those who hate the Gospel target our brothers and sisters in violent attacks.”
Open Doors’ Blythe said, “The fear of being brutally attacked will hang over millions of Christians across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, as they prepare for Easter, a festival that should be the most joyful moment in the Christian calendar. We will be praying that Christians around the world will be safe and free to celebrate and worship jubilantly this Eastertide.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Nigerian government for comment but received no response.
