Lawyer Ogebe writes USCIRF on Nigerian Palm Sunday massacres, anti-genocide coalition demands urgent action
The US–Nigeria Civil Society Coalition to End Genocide Against Christians and Other Vulnerable Groups has issued an urgent SOS call to the Government of Nigeria and the international community following a series of coordinated, deadly attacks across Nigeria’s Middle Belt during Palm Sunday weekend.
On March 29, 2026, a sacred day observed by millions of Christians worldwide, heavily armed attackers—suspected to be Fulani ethnic militias and terrorist elements—carried out what the Coalition describes as “Bloody Palm Sunday” attacks, deliberately targeting civilians and security personnel in multiple locations.
International human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe wrote to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), saying, “On Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Sumy, Ukraine, Russian missiles killed 34 people, including two children, injuring over 100 others.
“In Zike, Plateau State, Nigeria, Fulani militia killed 54 people, including children and elderly people, with many injured.
“Twenty more people were slaughtered in the Palm Sunday massacre in Nigeria than in Ukraine on the same day. Ukraine is at war with Russia. Nigeria is at peace.
“On Palm Sunday, 2026, Plateau, Kaduna and Taraba states were attacked and dozens of people slaughtered again just as we were preparing for the 1st year memorial of last April’s victims.”
The coalition said it confirmed that at least 25 civilians were killed in Anguwan Rukuba, Jos, Plateau State, when armed assailants stormed the community. Dozens more sustained critical injuries. The timing of the atrocities —on Palm Sunday—points to a deliberate attempt to terrorise Christian worshippers and communities.
It said that in Taraba State, a police officer was fatally stabbed at Mayo Fuel Station, a civilian, Kumater Atornyi, was murdered at Kasuwan Shanu Market, while in Atsahaa Village, two internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Peva Camp were ambushed and killed while attempting to retrieve food for their families. Their motorcycle was stolen.
The coalition also said that in Kagarko LGA, Kaduna State (Kahir Village), at approximately 11:47 p.m., heavily armed bandits attacked a wedding ceremony, killing 13 people and abducting several guests, including women and youth. Survivors reported indiscriminate gunfire that forced attendees to flee into nearby bushland. Authorities have confirmed the incident and initiated investigations.
It listed the identified dead and their ages as follows: in Kahir community – Bako Danjuma, 31; Williams Luka, 23; Peter Williams, 23; Joseph Yakubu, 26; Victor Peter, 24; John Dan Asabe, 25; Angulus Markus, 21 and Maikano Aribi, 30.
The dead in Kadda Community, it listed as Zaphania Alhaji, Joseph Kaddah, Francis Ungwar Doya, while the dead in Kukyer community it listed as Douglas John and Ado Yakubu.
“These attacks are not isolated incidents of criminality. They reflect a sustained and systematic pattern of violence, frequently targeting Christian communities during significant religious observances.
“Despite advance warnings—including intelligence indicating armed group movements across the Donga River and into surrounding forests—affected communities were left without adequate security protection,” the coalition said.
“The 2026 Palm Sunday massacres exceed 2025’s in multi-state atrocities. The casualty is also on course to be close to the 50+ fatalities of the previous year unfortunately,” Ogebe said.
The coalition urgently called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to deploy and sustain a robust security presence in high-risk areas, particularly in northern Nigeria to prevent further attacks.
It demanded independent and transparent investigations into the killings in Plateau, Taraba, and Kaduna states, noting that all perpetrators must be identified, arrested, and prosecuted to end the cycle of impunity.
The group called on the United States Government, the US Department of State, and the United Nations to recognise these targeted killings as potential atrocity crimes requiring urgent attention, provide intelligence, surveillance, and security support to Nigerian authorities and ensure accountability mechanisms are enforced where early warnings are ignored.
Also, it called for humanitarian assistance, noting that urgent aid is needed for thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) facing starvation and extreme hardship, particularly those unable to safely access their farmlands.
Concluded lawyer Ogebe, “Days ago, Nigerians were being teargassed by their government in Abuja and now this when the security forces should have been weeding out terrorists after repeated early warnings and historical patterns. Failure to prevent further predictable attacks Holy Week through Easter will be seen as complicity or complacency.
“This attack in the heart of Jos town is especially troubling because the atrocities had been confined to rural communities for years but now the illusion of urban safety has been shattered.
“In 2021, Fulani militia destroyed our orphanage complex in Miango hours after we evacuated 157 children. They never returned to the abandoned campus, believing in security inside Jos city.”
