Resident Jesse Peter Dukut said villagers were trapped inside their homes as gunmen moved through the community.
By Catholics for Catholics
Dozens of Christians and a pastor were slain during an overnight attack at a Nigerian village, in what became the latest massacre in a region wracked by terrorism, land conflict and targeted violence against Christian communities.
According to a story by the Daily Wire, the attack started around 2 a.m. on June 22 in the Kawel village in Bokkos County, Plateau State, where Fulani herdsmen allegedly killed 28 Christians, including Rev. Markus Nyam, pastor of the Church of Christ in Nations, according to Christian Daily International.
Jesse Peter Dukut, a resident, said villagers were caught inside their homes as gunmen moved through the area.
“We were inside our houses when the Fulani herdsmen invaded our village,” Dukut said. “If anyone came out of their houses, they were shot at sight. And a sound from any of the houses in the village attracts shooting from the terrorists.”
Making matters worse, the perpetrators disabled the phone and telecom services, preventing the Christian residents from calling police for help, said Dukut. Also, the henchmen spoke in Fulani and Hausa and called out the names of Christian leaders, leading him to believe they were being guided during the attack.
Ethiopia: Dozens of Christians were slaughtered in recent days by ethnic militants in the Oromo region.
— Christian Emergency Alliance (@ChristianEmerg1) June 7, 2026
The Ethiopian Orthodox Christian community was intentionally targeted.
This evil must be stopped and those responsible brought to justice.
Pray for the afflicted. pic.twitter.com/qJKuYI5VcU
“They killed my uncle and brothers,” he said. “I narrowly escaped being shot.”
The attackers slew Nyam alongside members of his congregation. In Bokkos, church leaders later corroborated his death, saying they received the news “with deep sadness” and offering prayers for his family, friends, and community.
The attack was part of a proven pattern of rising anti-Christian violence across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, according to the Premier Christian News. According to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, 3,490 of the 4,849 Christians killed globally for their faith between October 2024 and September 2025 were Nigerian, representing 72% of the worldwide total.
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