Coordinated Christmas and New Year terror attacks in Adamawa, Kebbi, and Plateau kill over 30 Christians as bandits massacre Muslims and Christians in Sokoto.
Newsroom (08/01/2026 Gaudium Press ) A series of coordinated terrorist attacks claimed the lives of at least 32 Christians in northern and central Nigeria over the Christmas and New Year holidays, deepening fears of renewed sectarian strife and exposing the fragility of security in the country’s volatile regions. The violence, which spanned Adamawa, Kebbi, and Plateau states, was followed by a deadly massacre in Sokoto State, where armed bandits killed both Muslims and Christians.
Adamawa: ISWAP’s Christmas Warning
In Adamawa State, militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) targeted three predominantly Christian communities — Higa, Mondag, and Timboa — in a calculated string of assaults that began just after Christmas.
On December 26, ISWAP fighters ambushed Timboa village, killing four Christians and torching 50 homes. The group reportedly abducted five residents and destroyed several motorcycles. Three days later, militants launched a raid on Mondag, killing 11 people, razing a church, and burning more than 100 houses. Witnesses said the attackers looted possessions and accused residents of being “hostile Christians.”
The violence escalated on New Year’s Eve when ISWAP fighters invaded Higa village, setting fire to about 50 homes and issuing a chilling ultimatum. Survivors were told to convert to Islam or pay jizyah — an Islamic tax historically levied on non-Muslims — or face execution.
International security analyst Brant Philip confirmed the group published images of the devastation, declaring in a statement that Christians across Nigeria were “legitimate targets” and would be spared only if they converted or paid the tax.
Kebbi: Lakurawa Militants Strike
In Kebbi State, militants believed to belong to a group known locally as Lakurawa (“the Recruits”) carried out coordinated assaults on the villages of Kaiwa, Gelawu, and Gebbe in the Shanga Local Government Area on December 31. Police confirmed eight deaths, though security experts warned the true figure could be higher.
A police spokesperson noted that seven people died on-site and one later succumbed to injuries. Security forces, he added, had begun intensified patrols and joint operations in an effort to regain control of the area.
Plateau: Night Raid on Bum Village
Central Nigeria’s Plateau State witnessed another bloody episode on New Year’s Eve. Armed militia stormed Bum village in Chugwi, Vwang District of Jos South Local Government Area, around 11 p.m., killing nine residents. According to an eyewitness quoted by Truth Nigeria, one of the assailants was a Fulani herder familiar to the community.
The repeated targeting of Christian villages across multiple states has renewed scrutiny of religiously motivated violence. U.S. Congressman Riley Moore strongly condemned the killings, describing them as “persecution of Christians for their faith – plain and simple.” Moore urged greater U.S. military support for Nigerian operations against ISWAP and related jihadist factions, reaffirming America’s commitment to counterterrorism cooperation with Abuja.
Sokoto and Niger: A Massacre Without Distinction
Only days after these attacks, the cycle of violence expanded into Niger State, where bandits unleashed a massacre that claimed the lives of 42 men in the village of Kasuwan Daji on January 3.
Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of Kontagora told Aid to the Church in Need that the attackers tied up the victims — both Christians and Muslims — before slaughtering them. The bandits also set fire to markets, homes, and abducted an unknown number of women and children.
The bishop, whose diocese includes Papiri, the site of a mass kidnapping of schoolchildren in November, said the assailants had been moving through Niger and Kebbi states largely unchallenged by security forces. He described how, on January 1, the attackers revisited Shafaci, burning police documents and vandalizing a Catholic church compound in Sokonbora, where they desecrated religious artifacts and stole money, phones, and motorcycles.
After slaughtering livestock belonging to the Kambari ethnic community, the assailants moved on to Kasuwan Daji—culminating in one of the deadliest single attacks in the region’s recent history.
“This senseless, barbaric and inhuman act of violence is a grave violation of the sanctity of human life and dignity,” Bishop Yohanna said. He urged local communities to unite against the common threat of armed banditry rather than turn on one another.
The bishop called for immediate government intervention and a robust military response. “Pending the elimination of the bandits and their hideouts in the Kainji Game Reserve, there is an urgent need for a well-equipped military task force capable of pursuing and eliminating the bandits whenever they emerge,” he said.
A Nation Under Siege
The wave of Christmas and New Year terror attacks underscores Nigeria’s ongoing struggle to contain extremist violence that overlaps ethnic, religious, and criminal lines. Analysts warn that as groups like ISWAP consolidate control and expand alliances with local militias, both Christian and Muslim communities risk being trapped in an escalating cycle of retaliation and fear.
What began as isolated attacks in rural villages has now taken on the form of coordinated, cross-regional campaigns — a grim reminder that Nigeria’s fight against terrorism is far from over.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from The Tablet
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