A United States-based humanitarian organisation, Equipping The Persecuted, has raised the alarm over what it described as a plot to launch coordinated attacks on several Christian communities in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day.
The group’s founder, Judd Saul, made the disclosure during a roundtable meeting held on Wednesday in Washington DC, United States.
The meeting, convened by the International Committee on Nigeria and the African Jewish Alliance, was chaired by former US Congressman Frank Wolf.
Speaking at the session, Saul said terrorists were regrouping around key border communities and planning attacks on December 25.
Saul warned, “They are gathering forces around the Plateau and Nasarawa border, along the Nasarawa-Benue border and along the Nasarawa-Kaduna border.
“They are planning to hit on Christmas Day in Riyom, Bokkos, Kafanchan and Agatu. We got very reliable information that they are weaponising for a Christmas Day massacre.
“I am imploring the Nigerian government and President Donald Trump to do something so we don’t have a bunch of dead Christians in Nigeria.”
Top US Lawmakers Present
The meeting was attended by Congressmen Riley Moore and Chris Smith, Senator James Lankford, members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and a Nigerian delegation.
A source familiar with the discussions told Saturday Punch that Saul had already conveyed the intelligence to the US government through Congressman Moore, who is expected to file a report to President Donald Trump.
“All the congressmen at the meeting have been to Nigeria many times. They’ve been involved in this matter since (Bill) Clinton was president,” the source said.
A senior officer of the Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed on Friday that the agency was aware of the intelligence report and had begun implementing countermeasures.
“The service is aware; we have the intelligence report, and we are already working on it,” the officer told Saturday PUNCH in Abuja.
Another operative revealed that intelligence gathering had been intensified in sensitive locations.
He stated, “We know the trend of attacks in those areas. I was in Kaduna for over two years, and I can tell you that these people have a pattern.
“The intelligence report by the US NGO may be correct because communities in the Middle Belt have always come under attack during festive periods. But I am sure the service would also have got wind of any planned attack by the bandits, and preventive measures would have been put in place.”
Communities mentioned in the report, Riyom, Bokkos, Kafanchan, and Agatu, have all witnessed deadly attacks in 2025.
On October 31, bandits stormed the Kwi community in Riyom, killing at least six residents. A major attack in Jebu village, Tahoss District, left at least 32 dead, including women and children.
Between June 19 and 21, gunmen also invaded Juwan and Manja in Bokkos and neighbouring Mangu LGAs, killing about 13 people.
Agatu in Benue State has also seen repeated violence. On June 1, 28 people were killed in Edikwu Ankpali and Opaha communities, while a pastor was murdered and three others kidnapped in Anwule village in November.
Similarly, Chawai communities near Kafanchan in Southern Kaduna were reportedly attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen last month, leaving several residents dead and many displaced.
Efforts to get a response from the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, proved abortive as he neither answered calls nor replied to a text message sent by Saturday Punch.
However, a senior security official, who requested anonymity, assured that surveillance would be intensified.
“We will intensify surveillance for early warning and continue to deepen our intelligence penetration. However, there is no specific detailed Intel at this end,” he stated.
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