Dozens of Christians were killed on Palm Sunday in the city of Jos, Nigeria, in what Spiked News described as one of several recent attacks on Christians in the area that much of the media has ignored.
Jihadist gunmen entered the city on motorbikes and “fired sporadically” on city residents and homes before retreating to nearby mountains, according to International Christian Concern.
Sean Nelson, an international human rights lawyer and Senior Counsel for Global Religious Freedom, reported in an April 7 Spiked News article that a 17-year-old and a pregnant mother were among those murdered in the March 29 attack.
Nelson said that Holy Days have become a “preferred moment” for jihadists in Nigeria to target Christian communities, adding that dozens of Christians were later killed the same day during a wedding celebration in a neighboring state.
Referencing the death toll of Christians in the country, Nelson called Nigeria the “the most dangerous place on Earth to be a Christian,” highlighting that a recent report found 3,500 Christians had been murdered in 2025 alone. Nelson also added that "absolutely no one is held responsible" for the atrocities.
Nelson noted that although progress has been made, such as the December 2025 US airstrikes on terrorist groups, “structural changes” are necessary for sustained improvement.
Nelson criticized the mainstream media’s lack of reporting on the issue, stating the media's “ignorance is inexcusable.” He referenced a recent report from an outlet that claimed the Palm Sunday attack was not about Christians but instead “‘fuelled by criminals, rather than religious or ethnic tensions.” He described the media’s silence as “shameful.”
Nelson said the U.S. must “redouble” its efforts to hold Nigerian officials accountable, stating no one “should ignore the brutality of the Islamist jihadists responsible.”
As Zeale News previously reported, the U.S. State Department has designated Nigeria a country of “particular concern” facing a “crisis of religious violence” where 53,000 Nigerian civilians have been killed since 2009.
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