Jos, Plateau State – November 15, 2025 – Tensions in Nigeria’s volatile Middle Belt reached a boiling point yesterday as Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, a prominent regional leader of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), directly confronted Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a controversial Islamic scholar known for his outreach to bandit groups, over his dismissal of evidence pointing to targeted killings of Christians. Standing amid the somber rows of mass graves in Heipang community near Jos, Rev. Dachomo invited Sheikh Gumi and international media outlets to witness planned exhumations, vowing to exhume the remains of 27 Christians slain in a recent attack to refute claims of fabrication.
The confrontation unfolded during a live-streamed visit to the burial site, where wooden coffins—simple markers for victims of suspected Fulani militia raids—dot the landscape. Rev. Dachomo, who has faced death threats since sharing viral videos of mass burials earlier this year, addressed the camera with raw emotion: “How dare you say we buried empty caskets? The youths are ready—we’re going to dig the graves. We are ready to bring out the corpses before everyone’s eyes!” His words, captured in footage now circulating widely, underscore the cleric’s determination to document what he describes as an “ongoing Christian genocide” in northern and central Nigeria.
Sheikh Gumi, a retired military officer and vocal advocate for negotiating with armed groups, had previously labeled such mass burials as “empty coffins” staged for international sympathy, a remark that ignited widespread outrage among Christian leaders and communities. In a recent interview, Gumi reiterated his stance, arguing that the violence stems from resource disputes rather than religious targeting, and accused activists of exaggeration to attract foreign aid. Rev. Dachomo’s retort has amplified calls for accountability, with the cleric accusing Gumi of emboldening perpetrators by downplaying the scale of atrocities. “If telling the truth will cost me my life, then I have chosen to die telling it,” Dachomo stated during the event, echoing his appeals to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigations into government complicity.
This public clash arrives amid a surge in international scrutiny of Nigeria’s security crisis. On October 31, U.S. President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious freedom violations, citing the “existential threat” to Christianity from “radical Islamists.” Trump escalated rhetoric on November 1, threatening to halt all U.S. aid and order Pentagon planning for “fast, vicious” military action—potentially including airstrikes or troop deployments—if the Nigerian government fails to curb the killings. “If we attack, it will be… just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians!” he posted on Truth Social, prompting Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to defend his nation’s constitutional protections for all faiths while welcoming U.S. counter-terrorism assistance.
Echoing these concerns, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has warned Nigerian officials of “mass murder” enabled by state inaction, introducing the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 in September. The bipartisan bill seeks sanctions on officials facilitating jihadist violence or enforcing blasphemy laws, highlighting over 7,000 Christian deaths and 7,800 abductions in 2025 alone, per human rights reports. Cruz’s legislation, now backed by a House companion, aims to lock in Trump’s CPC designation and target enablers of groups like Boko Haram and Fulani militants.
Nigeria’s government, under President Tinubu, firmly rejects the “genocide” label, insisting the attacks by Boko Haram, ISWAP, and bandit groups target all faiths indiscriminately amid broader insecurity. Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar and Information Minister Mohammed Idris have echoed the African Union’s assessment that no ethnic or religious group is systematically singled out, emphasizing constitutional safeguards and recent military leadership changes, including a Christian defense chief. However, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), a major Christian body, demands U.S.-Nigeria collaboration with Tinubu’s administration—specifically on counter-terrorism training—while condemning denials as a “desecration of the blood of murdered Nigerians.” PFN President Bishop Francis Wale Oke affirmed, “There is Christian genocide going on… No Christian group is attacking Muslims,” urging an overhaul of security forces infiltrated by extremists.
The dispute is deeply rooted in longstanding herder-farmer clashes, exacerbated by climate change, population growth, and land scarcity in the Middle Belt. Predominantly Muslim Fulani herders, migrating southward with cattle, often collide with Christian farming communities like the Berom and Irigwe. While official data from Nextier’s Nigeria Violent Conflicts Database records 2,347 casualties in 359 incidents from 2020–2024, rights groups estimate far higher tolls: Open Doors International’s 2025 World Watch List reports 3,100 of 4,476 global Christian killings in Nigeria last year, with over 7,000 in 2025 per Intersociety. Attacks have razed villages, burned churches (about 100 monthly), and displaced nearly 500,000 in Benue State alone, with mass graves in places like Dogo Nahawa (over 500 killed in one night) and Jaruwa (worshippers burned alive in a church). Rev. Dachomo has personally documented sites in Mangu, Bokkos, and Rachas, where 13 coffins were recently interred after a single raid.
Social media has erupted in response, with #ChristianGenocideInNigeria trending at No. 3 nationally. Videos of gravesites, survivor testimonies, and demands for Sheikh Gumi’s arrest have amassed millions of views. Activist J.C. Okechukwu (@jcokechukwu) shared footage of Rev. Dachomo’s challenge, decrying “genocide-denying talking points” and praising Trump’s intervention as divine timing, garnering over 2,600 views and 94 likes.Similarly, @TomiLolaMoments posted clips of northern preachers detailing daily persecutions and images of razed Christian homes, urging an end to the violence and amassing hundreds of engagements. Users like @dotedot7 and @ProtecttheFaith amplified calls for U.S. pressure, linking to broader campaigns like #SaveNigerianChristians.
As Plateau’s Christian communities mourn and prepare for exhumations, the incident highlights Nigeria’s deepening fault lines. Rights advocates, including Genocide Watch, classify the violence as “Stage 9: Extermination,” driven by jihadist motives rather than mere resource disputes. With Trump’s threats looming and domestic pleas for justice intensifying, the world watches whether dialogue—or escalation—will prevail.
Clarion Newschannel will continue monitoring developments, including any ICC submissions or U.S. policy shifts. For viewer tips or footage, contact our Jos bureau.
