At Least 15 Christians Killed in Barkin Ladi Attacks in Late September 2026
Fulani militants killed at least 15 Christians in coordinated attacks across several villages in Barkin Ladi County, Plateau State, Nigeria, between September 21 and 25, 2026. A church pastor was among those killed in an earlier attack on September 20. Advocacy groups are calling on the United Nations to intervene.
At least 15 Christians were killed in a series of coordinated attacks across Barkin Ladi County in Nigeria's Plateau State between September 21 and 25, 2026, according to reports from Morning Star News.
The attacks struck several predominantly Christian villages, including Chit, Gassa, Bet, Rakwok, Razat, and Rakung. One incident involved an ambush on a vehicle in Rakwok that killed five Christians. A shooting near the Bethany Christian Academy on the outskirts of Barkin Ladi town also claimed one life.
A church pastor was killed in a separate attack on September 20, the day before the latest wave of violence began.
Local leaders identified the perpetrators as Fulani militants. Community leaders say the attacks are driven by a combination of land seizure and efforts to impose Islamic ideology on Christian farming communities.
The advocacy group Equipping the Persecuted issued a formal call to the United Nations in September, urging international intervention to stop the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt region.
Nigeria was redesignated as a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. administration in 2025. Following that designation, the Nigerian government declared a nationwide security emergency and announced plans to recruit 50,000 additional police officers. Local leaders say enforcement remains inconsistent.
A report from the Catholic World Report published in September 2026 estimated that more than 3,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria in the first eight months of the year alone. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, and many churches have been destroyed.
The violence in Plateau State is part of a broader pattern that has persisted for years across Nigeria's Middle Belt, where Christian farming communities and predominantly Muslim herding groups have clashed over land and resources.
