JOHANNESBURG – A Holy Week attack in a predominantly Christian city in Nigeria that reportedly left 28 dead has sparked widespread fears that more followers of Christ could be targeted over the coming Easter weekend.
Last Palm Sunday weekend, several gunmen reportedly shouted a Muslim proclamation as they opened fire indiscriminately in the predominantly Christian town of Angwan Rukuba in the Jos district of Nigeria’s Plateau State.
“The terrorists stormed the area in commando style and started shooting, sporadically chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great in Arabic),” a field worker on the scene told the aid group Voice of the Martyrs. “The area is (a majority) Christian community.”
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“Tragic events like this are all too common in Plateau State and large parts of Northern Nigeria,” Blyth said.
“And all too often, they can occur on Christian holy days like this. People in the region will remember the devastating Christmas Eve attacks of 2023 in Benue State, which left more than 140 people dead.”
Police officers gather at the scene of Sunday evening’s terrorist attack in Gari Ya Waye community in Jos North, Nigeria, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Samson Omale)
Nigeria is ranked seventh among the worst countries in the world for Christian persecution by Open Doors. The organization claims it is responsible for 72% of the total number Christian murders worldwide by 2025.
He added that the area is essentially a Christian area “and if someone is going to openly shoot people, it must be that that person had Christians in mind.”
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Funerals for about 27 Christians allegedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in Bindi Ta-hoss village, Nigeria, July 28, 2025 (Courtesy: Christian Solidarity International)
The human rights lawyer said there are reports of videos circulating threatening further attacks on Christians. He added: “Here in Jos, Nigeria, we say that there is no Christian holiday or event left in the Christian calendar that has escaped attack by radical Islamists or terrorists in Nigeria, whether it is Christmas or Easter or Good Friday or Palm Sunday or Sunday services or whatever. We are trapped.”
Christians hold placards as they march through the streets of Abuja during a prayer and penance for peace and security in Nigeria in Abuja on March 1, 2020. (Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images)
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Open Doors’ Blythe said: ‘The fear of being brutally attacked will hang over millions of Christians in 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 pray that Christians around the world will be safe and free to jubilantly celebrate and worship this Easter season.”
