Following a wave of grief and outrage that swept across parts of Nigeria after the killing of at least 34 Christians in Angwan Rukuba, a community in Jos, on Palm Sunday, the Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) has described the attack as part of a sustained pattern of violence targeting Christian communities, particularly in the northern and Middle Belt regions.
The group declared the incident “Black Palm Sunday,” reflecting what it called a deepening national tragedy. Its statement comes even as residents of the area would not give ears to the state governor, Barrister Caleb Mutfwang, as he visited to commiserate with them.
Some shouted back that he stepped down from the armoured tank he was ensconced in to address them. Others simply wanted him to relax the curfew over the Jos North Local Government Area.
The victims of Sunday’s attack were reportedly attacked on March 29 during a period traditionally marked by solemn Christian observances. The CSMN expressed condolences to bereaved families, while also raising alarm over what it termed a failure by authorities to stem recurring violence.
The statement rejects the widely used characterization of such incidents as clashes between herders and farmers, arguing instead that the Jos attack bore no signs of a land dispute or livestock-related conflict. According to the group, the violence reflects a pattern of ideologically driven insurgency.
The CSMN listed a series of deadly incidents over the past 15 years—many coinciding with major Christian holidays—pointing to attacks in Madalla, Kaduna, Plateau State, Benue State, and Gombe State. These events, the group argued, demonstrate a consistent vulnerability of Christian populations during religious celebrations.
Central to the statement is a sharp critique of the federal government’s handling of insecurity. The group accused authorities of responding sluggishly to domestic terror threats while acting decisively in foreign interventions, raising questions about national priorities.
It also expressed concern over policies that reportedly reintegrate former militants into security structures, warning that such measures could compromise ongoing counterterrorism efforts.
Additionally, the CSMN criticized the government for not addressing controversial public statements by certain religious leaders, which it claims may embolden violent actors.
The organization called for accountability from both political and traditional leadership, including prominent religious authorities, urging them to take stronger positions against violence.
It further appealed to the international community to pay closer attention to the scale of killings in Nigeria, framing the situation as a humanitarian crisis requiring urgent intervention.
Across affected communities, the mood remains somber. Religious leaders have called for prayers and restraint, while civil society groups warn that continued violence could deepen divisions in an already fragile security landscape.
Despite differing interpretations of the causes, there is agreement among observers that the latest attack underscores persistent gaps in security and the urgent need for effective solutions.
Below is the statement of the CSMN:
PRESS RELEASE
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENT OF NIGERIA (CSMN)
BLACK PALM SUNDAY 2026: GOVERNMENT AS ACCOMPLICE TO TERRORISM
The Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) expresses anguish over the murder of 34 Christians at Angwan Rukuba in Jos City, on Palm Sunday, 29th March 2026. The CSMN mourns with the families affected in the carnage. We pray that God will comfort and strengthen them to bear the loss.
The attack against Christians on 29th March 2026 follows a pattern of unprovoked yet dastardly attacks on unarmed Christians in the Northern and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria. The convoluted conspiracies about a “clash” between “herders” and “farmers” has again crashed, as the attack was on no farmland and the attackers were herding no livestock. It has purely been Islamist terrorism based on Islamic jihad, in violation of Section 38(1) and Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Over the years, there have been similar attacks against Christians during Christian festivities, as follows:
• Christmas Day 2011 – Boko Haram launched a series of coordinated attacks on Christians in Madalla (near Abuja), Jos, Gadaka, and Damaturu. Over 41 Christians were killed.
• Easter 2012 – At least 38 Christians were killed by a suicide bomber in Kaduna. The target was an ECWA Church, but the device detonated premature.
• Easter 2019 – In Gombe State, along the Gombe-Biu Road, a vehicle rammed into a procession of the Boys Brigade, killing 11 Christian children.
• Christmas Eve 2023 – Coordinated attacks by Fulani militia at Mangu, Bokkos, and Barkin Lardi in Plateau State, with no less than 259 Christians killed.
• Easter Monday, 1st April 2024 – multiple villages in Plateau State were attacked by the Fulani militia. On the first day of the attack, 39 Christians were killed, while additional 29 Christians were killed in follow-up attacks spanning a period of two weeks.
• Christmas 2024 – Dozens of Christians were killed in Benue State by the Fulani militia.
• Palm Sunday 2025 – At Bassa LGA in Plateau State, 56 Christians (including children) were killed in a night attack by the Fulani militia, so far conspiratorially designated as mere “herders.”
• 21st April 2025 – On Easter Monday, at Biliri LGA in Gombe State, a truck driver deliberately rammed into a Christian procession, killing 6 and injuring many others.
• The 2025 Christmas attack plans were fortunately foiled by the strike of the United States on terrorist locations in Sokoto State.
The attack on Christians in Jos on Sunday 29th March 2026 is a painful reminder of the shoddy handling of the war on terror by the Federal Government. Thus far, the Government has been acting in slow motions that have provoked intelligent fingers pointing at it as an accomplice or enabler of the terrorists. Many concerns lead to that sad conclusion.
1. A Government that could hurriedly and effectively cross the border to quell a military coup d’etat in Benin Republic has strangely been unable to quell terror attacks at home, which makes logical Nigerians and the wider world wonder about charities that so often begin abroad.
2. Instead of decisively eradicating Islamic terrorism in Nigeria, the government has been absorbing terrorists into the Nigeria Army and especially other security infrastructures as “repentant terrorists.” Some of them have been accused of working for their terrorist peers on the other side of the front lines.
3. So far, the very provocative and inflammatory statements of Sheik Abubakar Gumi, in outright support for and endorsement of the terrorists, have not been checked by the government. Many Nigerians worry that if that had been a different Nigerian, the story would have been remarkably different.
4. The military Chief of Defense Staff, in a recent statement, excused blood-thirsty terrorists as “prodigal sons” who should be welcomed back home. Did the prodigal son of the Bible shed the blood of innocent people? We wonder why the Chief of Defense Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, did not quote Genesis 9:6, which commands that if a man sheds blood, by man should his blood be shed.
The CSMN condemns these terror attacks and the ongoing Islamist insurgency in Nigeria. The Movement equally condemns the apparent complicity of the present administration in these terror attacks, and calls to account the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, for poor and weak leadership over Muslims in Nigeria. As the traditional ruler of the Fulanis, every Fulani terrorist is his subject, whom he has the revered powers to restrain. Furthermore, as President of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Nigeria, the Sultan cannot absolve himself of criminal negligence over terror attacks being perpetrated by killers whose usual war cry, on such dastardly missions, is their common religious refrain.
The Christian Social Movement of Nigeria hereby calls on the international community to intervene in the ongoing genocide against Christians in Nigeria. More people have been killed and are being killed in Nigeria by ethnoreligious Islamist insurgents than are killed in Palestine. All lives are sacred.
CSMN sympathizes with all suffering Nigerians for the anguish they have had to endure under a government that has broken faith with the people and failed to comply with Section 14(2)b of the Constitution which states, “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” The security and welfare of Nigerians do not appear to be the primary purpose of the present administration.
God bless Nigeria.
(Signed)
Bosun Emmanuel
CEO/Executive Secretary
Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN)
31st March 2026
