Jos Christians Block Mass Funeral for Palm Sunday Victims in Standoff With Nigerian Army Over Arrested Youth Guards

Jos Christians Barricade Mass Funeral for Palm Sunday Victims Over Nigerian Army Arrests of Young Guards

Hundreds of Christians in Jos, Plateau State, barricaded the venue of a mass funeral on Tuesday, April 7, halting the burial of seven victims of a Palm Sunday attack to protest what community leaders described as ongoing abuses by the Nigerian Army.

A crowd estimated at 500 to 1,000 people blocked the entrance of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Angwan Rukuba. Mourners and government officials were trapped for hours as protesters demanded the release of three youths arrested during Holy Week.

The protest followed the Palm Sunday attack on March 29, in which more than 30 Christians were killed in the Angwan Rukuba suburb of north Jos. Witnesses told TruthNigeria the assailants shouted religious slogans in Arabic and spoke Fulani.

Singing gospel songs and waving tree branches, protesters accused the Nigerian Army of targeting Christian youths standing guard outside their homes while failing to stop repeated assaults on their communities.

How could these terrorists come and attack us here, innocent Nigerians, in Angwan Rukuba, and the Nigerian Army did not have the effrontery to confront them even when we told them they entered here. They parked their trucks here and refused to engage them, saying they were waiting for command. Which command? Who commands who when they are killing your people? Community leader Jos Jarawa Elisha

Three youths were arrested in north Jos on March 30 and charged by the Nigerian Army with impersonation and arson. The army released a statement through Captain Chinonso Polycarp Oteh, spokesman for the Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Peace, claiming the arrests proved atrocities blamed on soldiers were actually committed by criminals in deceptive attire.

Nigerian Army Arrests Christian Guards While Fulani Attackers Roam Free in Plateau State

Panmak Lere, a rights advocate and Chairman of the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN), said the detainees had been seized in front of their homes while standing guard during an armed incursion.

Three of them were arrested right in front of their houses. It raised a lot of concerns that while they were burying their dead, members of the same community who were also bereaved were being incarcerated. Panmak Lere, YOWICAN Chairman

Governor Caleb Mutfwang, represented by his Chief of Staff Jerry Satmak, acknowledged the role of civilian vigilantes and said attacks in Plateau communities often target Christians for their faith. He pledged to work toward the release of the detained youths.

Protest leader Ruth Dakat shouted for authorities to release the arrested children, asking whether Christian children were simply expected to lay down and be martyred. The protest continued until midday, when officials relented and brought the detainees from the army camp to the church premises, allowing the funeral service and burial to proceed.

The Crusader's Opinion

Let me be blunt. In Nigeria, the army arrests Christian boys for holding sticks to defend their families while Fulani militants slaughter worshippers on Palm Sunday and walk free. This is not incompetence. This is complicity. The Nigerian state has chosen sides, and it is not the side of the Cross. If a Christian militia in any Western nation ambushed thirty Muslims leaving a mosque, every newsroom on earth would scream for a week. But when Fulani jihadists butcher Christians at an Easter week service, the soldiers wait for command and then handcuff the survivors. God sees every drop of that Plateau blood. And one day, every officer who looked the other way will answer for it.

Take Action

• Donate to support persecuted Christians in Nigeria and other conflict zones at www.TheShepherdsShield.org
• Support frontline Nigerian believers through Open Doors at www.opendoorsus.org
• Partner with Voice of the Martyrs to fund emergency relief and advocacy at www.persecution.com
• Contact your U.S. Senator and Representative and urge them to demand Nigeria remain designated a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224 3121
• Pray specifically for the families of the seven Palm Sunday victims buried in Jos and for the safety of civilian guards in Plateau State
• Share this story on social media so the silence around Nigerian Christian persecution is finally broken