A Nigerian bishop has issued a strong condemnation of the government’s failure to protect Christians, following a week of brutal attacks that left nearly 200 believers dead - including 56 killed in a Palm Sunday massacre in Zikke, Plateau State.
Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto described the killings as part of a worsening pattern of targeted violence against Christian communities. Just a week earlier, a coordinated assault on five villages south of Jos had claimed the lives of at least 50 people.
“In less than one week, we have lost almost 200 lives across the country,” Bishop Kukah said, adding that while the blood of Nigerians flows like streams, those responsible seem to have taken the “tranquilising drug of complacency,” as reported by the Catholic Herold.
According to local reports, armed Fulani extremists attacked the village of Zikke on 13th April, killing dozens, destroying over 100 homes, and displacing the entire village. Witnesses described a delayed response from security forces and alleged that Christian residents were disarmed while the attackers remained unchecked.
Rev. Hezekiah Mukan led a mass burial for 51 victims the following day, encouraging the grieving community to hold onto their faith. Local pastor Ishaku Mathew Kure, who lost ten members of his congregation, called the violence “coordinated” and criticised the government's failure to disarm militant groups.
Bishop Kukah also warned of a renewed threat from Boko Haram and other extremist factions. “In other parts of the country, the bandits continue their dances of evil, encircling the landscape, capturing, torturing, and inflicting the harshest form of inhuman treatment on our people,” he said.
The violence in Zikke is the latest in a series of attacks that have devastated Christian communities in central and northern Nigeria. Armed groups such as Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani militias have been linked to ongoing violence.
Between December 2023 and February 2024 alone, over 1,300 people were killed in Plateau State, according to International Christian Concern. Meanwhile, rights group Intersociety reports more than 20,000 Christians have been killed by Fulani herdsmen in southeast Nigeria over the past decade.
Christian leaders and human rights advocates have condemned the violence and called for urgent international intervention. Speaking to Crux, Emeka Umeagbalasi, chair of Intersociety, accused the government of enabling the violence through selective disarmament policies and a lack of accountability. He urged foreign governments to hold Nigerian authorities responsible.
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja stated that self-defence may be necessary. “You cannot just sit while someone comes to kill your family,” he said. “You must rise up and protect your community.”
Bishop Kukah warned that without a clear and coordinated strategy, the violence will persist.
