A religious freedom advocate is sounding the alarm over what he describes as credible intelligence pointing to a possible new wave of mass violence against Christians in Nigeria around Christmas, warning that the scale could rival or exceed previous atrocities.
The warning was issued during an Emergency Summit on Crimes Against Christians held at the U.S. Capitol last Tuesday, where lawmakers, human rights advocates and persecution experts reviewed data documenting the global scope of anti-Christian violence and discussed policy responses.
Participants included Gia Chacon of the advocacy group For the Martyrs; Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.; Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind.; and Mark Walker, President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
The summit was co-hosted by worship artist Sean Feucht, who leads the ministry Light a Candle, alongside Chacon, Hawley and the office of Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va.
Judd Saul, founder of the advocacy organization Equipping the Persecuted, told attendees that his group began in 2019 and later launched TruthNigeria.com to address what he described as widespread underreporting of violence against Christians.
Saul argued that information about attacks in Nigeria often fails to reach Western audiences. He said “there’s a lot of journalists and a lot of attacks happening and a lot of incidents happening that were not getting out to the public,” adding that coverage is frequently filtered before reaching mainstream outlets.
“Truth Nigeria gained a lot of credibility and a lot of trust amongst locals in Nigeria,” Saul said. “Our organization has issued over 100 terror alerts since 2023 with 89 percent accuracy. So we knew where the attacks were going to happen. We knew when they were going to occur, and we’ve notified the Nigerian government at every instance, and every attack has been ignored, every alert, every warning has been ignored.”
Saul said intelligence gathered just before the summit indicated coordinated militant movements near multiple Nigerian states.
“We have intelligence right now, as of today, before this meeting, I’ve talked to my contacts. The Fulani are gathering on the border of Nasarawa and Plateau. They’re gathering up on the border of Nasarawa and Benue. They’re gathering up on the border of Nasarawa and Kaduna. They plan on hitting these villages. They plan on hitting Bokkos in Plateau. They plan on hitting Barkin Ladi. They plan on hitting Riyom in Plateau. They plan on hitting the community of Agatu in Benue, and they plan on hitting Kafanchan in Kaduna, all on Christmas.”
“They [are] planning another Christmas massacre,” he said, referencing the coordinated attacks in Plateau state in December 2023 that killed more than 160 Christians.
Pointing to a June massacre in Yelwata, Benue state, Saul warned, “If you want to see a Yelwata times five, times 10 happen, intervention has to happen now to prevent this.”
Franc Utu, a researcher at the University of Central Oklahoma and a former principal special assistant to the Benue state governor, provided further context about the Yelwata killings. Chacon introduced Utu as a “survivor of Fulani violence.”
Utu asserted that the severity of the attacks is linked to what he described as deep infiltration of extremist ideology within Nigeria’s institutions. “They infiltrated the politics, they infiltrated the Army, the military, every segment,” he said, alleging that jihadist actors have penetrated multiple layers of governance.
Both Utu and Saul said intelligence warnings were issued ahead of the Yelwata massacre. “Before the night of June 13, we got the intelligence that these guys are coming,” Utu said, adding that the attackers “prayed to go and carry out successful execution of my siblings, of my relatives.”
Saul echoed the claim, stating, “We knew 30 days out; we notified the government,” and “24 hours before the attack happened, we notified the government.” He added, “Nothing happened.”
Utu said the violence has taken a devastating toll on Christian communities. “This year alone, over 7,000 Christians have been killed. More than 500 churches have been destroyed in my community. In my community, between June and December this year, we’ve lost more than 500 people” due to what he described as “daily attacks.”
Opening the summit, Chacon cited long-term data showing the scale of destruction. “Since 2009, over 19,000 churches in Nigeria have been set on fire or destroyed,” she said, describing the pattern as a “systematic attempt to obliterate an entire people.”
Utu went further, characterizing the violence against Christians in Nigeria as a “genocide,” and called for “direct military intervention to exterminate these terrorists.”
He concluded by expressing skepticism that Nigerian authorities would act. “The people heading the government in many areas are the sponsors of this,” he claimed.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern, citing what his administration described as an “existential threat” facing Christians in the country.
