Nigeria President Vows Peace in After Palm Sunday Massacre but Won't Even Visit the City

Tinubu Promises to End Violence in Jos After Palm Sunday Massacre but Never Leaves the Airport

President Bola Tinubu flew into Jos on Thursday, April 2, to address the devastating Palm Sunday massacre that left at least 28 people dead and dozens more wounded in the predominantly Christian community of Angwan Rukuba, Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State.

On the evening of March 29, unidentified gunmen on motorcycles stormed the densely populated neighborhood at approximately 7:50 p.m., opening fire indiscriminately on civilians who had just returned from Palm Sunday church services. Fourteen people died at the scene. Thirteen more died in the hospital.

Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang called the attack "barbaric and unprovoked" and imposed a 48 hour curfew across Jos North. The University of Jos postponed scheduled exams.

During his visit, Tinubu spoke directly to a mother seen in a viral video clutching her dead son.

I know your pain. I saw in the video how you held on to your son and felt the agony in your heart.

He then pledged federal action.

To the victims, there is nothing I can give you, whether in billions of naira, but I can console you and promise that this experience will not repeat itself.

The President announced the installation of 5,000 AI enabled surveillance cameras across Plateau State and directed security agencies to hunt down the perpetrators. The Nigerian Army subsequently deployed 850 additional soldiers from Abuja and Kaduna formations under Operation Enduring Peace.

However, the President never traveled beyond Yakubu Gowon Airport in Heipang, roughly 15 miles from the massacre site. Victims and their families were instead ferried to an airport hall for the meeting. Officials cited the airport's lack of navigational aids for night flights, making it impossible to drive into town and return before dusk.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar called the visit a "choreographed spectacle" that prioritized political optics over genuine empathy. Human Rights Watch researcher Anietie Ewang noted that authorities have "failed to break the cycle of violence" in Plateau State, where intercommunal conflict between predominantly Christian farming communities and largely Muslim pastoralist groups has raged for decades.

Nigeria Deploys 850 Soldiers to Plateau State After Deadly Attack on Christians in Jos

Archbishop Matthew Ishaya Audu of the Jos Archdiocese cautioned against premature conclusions about the attackers' motives but urged prayer for the community during Holy Week. Nigerian dioceses across the region moved their Easter Vigil services earlier due to security concerns.

The Christian Association of Nigeria declared "Nigeria cannot keep bleeding" and demanded accountability from federal and state authorities.

The Crusader's Opinion

Let me be blunt. A president who cannot even drive 15 miles to visit a massacre site has no business promising that it "will not repeat itself." Christians in Jos were slaughtered on Palm Sunday, the holiest week of the year, and the most powerful man in Nigeria could not be bothered to leave the airport tarmac. Cameras will not stop jihadis. Promises from a podium will not raise the dead. What Plateau State needs is not surveillance technology but the political will to name this evil for what it is: a targeted attack on a Christian community. When 28 people are gunned down after returning from church and the world says nothing, you know the value the world places on Christian blood. We remember. God remembers.

Take Action

• Donate to The Shepherd's Shield to support persecuted Christians in Nigeria and across the world.
• Support Open Doors USA, which is actively working with communities in Jos and across Nigeria's Middle Belt.
• Contact the Nigerian Embassy in Washington at (202) 800 7201 or info@nigeriaembassyusa.org to demand accountability for the Palm Sunday massacre.
• Pray specifically for the families in Angwan Rukuba, especially the mother who lost her son, and for the Archbishop of Jos as he leads his flock through this crisis.
• Share this story on social media. The international media silence on Christian persecution in Nigeria is deafening. Be the voice they do not have.