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BEYOND DEGREES: THE CRISIS OF CHARACTER IN AN EDUCATED AGE

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By Babatomiwa M. Owojaiye What is the value of education when it sharpens the mind but corrupts the soul? What happens when literacy outpaces morality, intelligence outruns integrity, and influence becomes divorced from the fear of God? Many Bible interpreters remember Jezebel primarily as a witch, a seductress, or a promoter of idolatry. Yet such descriptions, though true, are incomplete. Jezebel was far more sophisticated than the caricature often painted of her. She was not merely spiritually corrupt; she was intellectually refined, politically strategic, administratively skilled, and highly educated. In many ways, Jezebel represents one of the clearest biblical warnings that education without character can become one of the most dangerous forces in society. Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and later became the wife of King Ahab of Israel (1 Kings 16:29–31). Coming from Phoenicia—a major commercial, political, and literary center of the ancient world—she likely received elite royal education uncommon for women of her time. Unlike the overwhelming majority of women in the ancient Near East, Jezebel could read and write. In a world where literacy was rare even among men, this placed her among the intellectual elite of her generation. Her literacy was not speculative; Scripture provides evidence of it. In 1 Kings 21:8–10, Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and orchestrated the judicial murder of Naboth. This single episode reveals extraordinary administrative competence. She understood political systems, legal procedures, state authority, and public manipulation. She knew how to weaponize bureaucracy, exploit religion, and manipulate leadership structures to achieve evil ends. Jezebel was educated—but not transformed. Brilliant—but morally bankrupt. Skilled—but spiritually perverse. This raises an uncomfortable but necessary question: Can education become dangerous when it is not governed by godliness? Modern society often assumes that education automatically produces virtue. But Scripture repeatedly demonstrates that intellectual advancement does not necessarily lead to moral advancement. A person may possess degrees and still lack discernment; may master information and still be enslaved to corruption; may command institutions and yet remain spiritually bankrupt. Jezebel stands as biblical proof that literacy alone does not produce righteousness.Indeed, some of the greatest evils in history were not committed by ignorant people but by highly educated individuals who used knowledge without conscience. The problem was never education itself. Education is a gift. Daniel was educated in Babylon (Daniel 1:17–20). Moses was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt (Acts 7:22). Paul was highly trained under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). The issue is not whether one is educated, but whether education is surrendered to God or detached from Him.Jezebel used her education to institutionalize evil. She introduced Baal worship into Israel (1 Kings 18:19), sponsored false prophets, persecuted God’s servants, and attempted to silence prophetic truth through intimidation and violence. Her intelligence became a tool for rebellion against God. She understood influence, propaganda, and political alliance. She recognized that culture could be reshaped through religion and state power working together.It is therefore not surprising that the spirit of Jezebel reappears symbolically in the New Testament. In Revelation 2:20, the church in Thyatira was rebuked for tolerating “that woman Jezebel,” who seduced God’s people into compromise and immorality. Here Jezebel becomes more than a historical figure; she becomes a prophetic symbol of corruption within religious systems. Likewise, Revelation 17–18 presents “Babylon the Great” as a seductive religious-political power opposed to God. The parallels are striking. Both Jezebels formed illicit unions between religion and political power. Both manipulated authority to corrupt worship. Both persecuted God’s people. Both dressed in outward splendor while concealing inward corruption. Both produced spiritual offspring. Both intoxicated nations with deception. Both were eventually judged by God and destroyed through the very systems they trusted (2 Kings 9:30–37; Revelation 17:16–18). This symbolism exposes one of the gravest dangers facing every generation: the possibility of using influence, intellect, religion, and power in service of self rather than truth. Jezebel did not merely oppose Elijah physically; she sought to destabilize him psychologically. After Mount Carmel, Elijah fled in fear because of her threats (1 Kings 19:1–4). Jezebel understood the power of intimidation. She knew how to weaken conviction through fear, exhaustion, and emotional pressure. Her warfare was not merely military or political; it was psychological and spiritual. How relevant this is today. We now live in a world overflowing with education but starving for character. We have more schools but less wisdom; more information but less truth; more exposure but less restraint; more intellectual confidence but less fear of God. The tragedy of many modern institutions is that they produce skilled professionals without moral foundations, articulate leaders without convictions, and influential voices without spiritual depth. The critical question therefore is not merely: Are people educated? The deeper question is: What is their education producing?Is education producing humility or arrogance? Service or manipulation? Integrity or exploitation? Truth or propaganda? Are we raising men and women whose minds are enlightened but whose consciences are darkened? What becomes of a society where intelligence is celebrated but righteousness is optional? Scripture warns, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Not the beginning of information, but of wisdom. Knowledge without the fear of God can easily become destructive. Satan himself is intellectually superior to every human being, yet utterly corrupt. Intelligence alone is never sufficient protection against evil. The danger is especially severe when gifted, educated, and influential people lose moral restraint. An ignorant wicked man may harm a family; an educated wicked man may corrupt a nation. Jezebel’s education amplified her influence, expanded her reach, and deepened her capacity for destruction. Yet the church today faces another danger—the danger of admiring competence while ignoring character. We increasingly celebrate charisma over consecration, influence over integrity, eloquence over holiness, and visibility over virtue. But God has never been impressed merely by brilliance. Heaven evaluates not only what we know, but what our knowledge produces within us. This is why Christian education must never focus merely on intellectual development while

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CORRECTING THE NARRATIVE

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What the Data Actually Show About Religious Violence in Nigeria– Prof Dr Dennis P. Petri Every few months, a new cycle of violence in Nigeria produces a familiar pattern in the international press. Attacks on churches, pastors killed, communities displaced. Then come the op-eds and the fact-checks. And reliably, two competing narratives emerge, each claiming to correct the other, and neither giving an accurate account of what the evidence actually shows. For anyone trying to follow the debate carefully, the result is genuine confusion: not because the question is unanswerable, but because the information environment is broken. Here is what that looks like in practice. A reader follows the fact-checks in the New York Times, the BBC, or Trouw, sees Intersociety’s numbers dismantled, and reasonably concludes that the religious-targeting claim has been dealt with. That reader will almost never encounter the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA)’s incident-level data on attacks against Christian communities, the joint International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF) and Open Doors report No Road Home on displaced Christians in Benue and Plateau, or the proxy estimation John Bainbridge and I published in Frontiers in Sociology. The debunk travels. The counter-evidence does not. Pledge your support The result is an information environment in which a basic question remains unanswered: is this violence targeting Christians, or is it something else dressed up in religious language? That question deserves a serious answer. What it gets instead is a choice between an overblown framing that the data cannot support and a dismissive counter-narrative that the data also cannot support. Both need to be corrected. The critique that lands The statistics most often cited by advocates of the strongest anti-Christian framing come from a single Nigerian civil society organization, Intersociety, whose reports have been amplified by politicians including Donald Trump and by a wide range of religious advocacy groups. Mainstream outlets including the New York Times, the BBC, and Dutch newspaper Trouw have pointed out, correctly, that Intersociety publishes striking numbers without transparent sourcing. When a statistic cannot be traced to a verifiable methodology, it cannot be used as evidence. That is not political bias; it is basic epistemic hygiene. And the rhetoric that accompanies those numbers often goes further than any data can support. Calling what is happening in Nigeria genocide is a serious legal and political claim. It requires a specific evidentiary standard. The figures in circulation do not meet it. Critics who push back on that framing are right to do so. But here is where careful analysis stops and something more convenient begins. The leap that does not follow From “Intersociety’s data is unreliable” and “the genocide framing is overblown,” much commentary draws a third conclusion: that there is no credible evidence of religiously targeted violence at all, and that the conflict is better understood as a dispute over land and water driven by climate change and demographic pressure. This third claim does not follow from the first two. Debunking a bad source does not validate the opposite conclusion. And the land-and-water framing, while it has real empirical content, is being applied far beyond what its actual explanatory range can support. Rarely are the roots of religious conflict mono-causal. It is true that Fulani herder communities and farming communities are locked in genuine competition over grazing routes and water sources, competition that climate change is making more acute. That is documented, serious, and worth taking into account. But the resource-competition model cannot account for the geographic consistency of which villages are attacked, which buildings are targeted, and which community leaders are killed. If this were purely a resource conflict, we would expect attacks distributed more evenly across farming communities regardless of their religious composition. What the data from the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) actually show is a pattern of direct targeting that tracks religious identity in ways a resource model cannot explain. This is not about reading minds or reconstructing what perpetrators intended. It is about what the attack data show. When churches and church gatherings are attacked at rates that far exceed the presence of Christian communities in the population, and when that pattern holds consistently across regions and over time, the evidence of targeting is in the pattern itself. The land-and-water framing circulates comfortably in academic and humanitarian circles accustomed to explaining conflict through material and structural factors, and journalists tend to draw from those same institutional sources. Religious freedom research bodies like ORFA and IIRF are known in specialist circles but rarely appear in the Rolodex of conflict correspondents. The result is that when Intersociety’s numbers are debunked, the debunking feels complete, and the more careful research pointing to a real pattern of religious targeting never enters the frame. The structural problem underneath What makes this debate so difficult to resolve is a structural problem in how humanitarian data is collected. Whether it’s the datasets from ACLED, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration, and the Internal Displacement Monitoring, they do not contain a column for the religious identity of displaced persons. Three separate dynamics explain why. The first is simple unawareness. Many humanitarian organizations have not historically treated religious identity as a structuring factor in conflict, and their data collection frameworks were built without it. In societies drenched in religion, this is gross neglect. The second is deliberate avoidance: tracking the religion of displaced persons is resisted out of concern that it could politicize operations or compromise neutrality across conflict lines. This is more understandable, but failing to acknowledge the religious variable results in interverntions that are not sufficienctly sensitive or properly targeted, resulting in literally millions of dollars wasted. These are not trivial objections, but the consequence is that a protection-relevant variable is systematically excluded from the record. The third is a practical limitation: in active conflict zones, basic registration is often incomplete or impossible regardless of what organizations intend to collect. Each dynamic produces the same outcome. Religion disappears from the analyses that inform policy and media coverage. The absence of data in official sources is then routinely misread

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Systematic Attacks on Places of Worship and the Erosion of Freedom of Religion in Nigeria

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This submission documents a pattern of violent attacks targeting Christian places of worship in Nigeria, with particular focus on incidents in Kwara and Kaduna States between November 2025 and January 2026. Drawing on field-based investigations, survivor testimonies, and community-level data, the report argues that while Nigeria maintains a strong constitutional and international legal framework protecting freedom of religion, these protections are increasingly undermined by persistent insecurity, especially in rural areas. The submission seeks urgent attention from the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief to the growing gap between legal guarantees and lived realities of religious freedom in Nigeria. Legal Framework and State Obligations Nigeria guarantees freedom of religion under Section 38(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which protects the right to manifest religion in worship, teaching, practice, and observance. Nigeria is also bound by international obligations, including: Under these frameworks, the Nigerian state has a positive obligation not only to respect but also to protect individuals and communities from violations by non-state actors, including armed groups. Documented Incidents of Attacks on Worship Spaces Eruku Church Attack, Kwara State (21 November 2025) Armed assailants attacked a worship service at Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Eruku, abducting 38 worshippers and killing two individuals. Ransom demands reportedly reached ₦100 million per victim. ECWA Church Omugo Kidnapping, Kwara State (Date: March 22, 2026). Kidnapped victims are still held captive till now On 22 March 2026, armed bandits attacked a Sunday worship service at ECWA Church, Omugo (Ifelodun LGA, Kwara State), abducting eight worshippers after opening fire on congregants. Subsequent ransom demands reached ₦1 billion, later reduced through negotiations. Attacks on Ariko Christians during Easter worship On 5 April 2026 (Easter Sunday), armed bandits attacked worshippers during live church services in Ariko, Kachia LGA of Kaduna State, targeting both ECWA and St. Augustine Catholic Church. At least 7–12 Christians were killed, and dozens of worshippers were abducted after gunmen opened fire on congregants within church premises. Kurmin Wali Church Abductions, Kaduna State (18 January 2026) On Sunday morning worship, armed groups simultaneously attacked three churches, ECWA, Albarka C&S, and Haske C&S, in Kurmin Wali (Kajuru LGA). Verified data confirms 89 worshippers abducted. Victims were beaten, marched into forests, and held under inhumane conditions before eventual release. Key Findings Targeting of Religious Spaces Places of worship have become predictable and vulnerable targets, particularly in rural and peri-urban communities lacking security presence. Emergence of a Ransom Economy Around Worship The structured reduction of ransom demands—from ₦1 billion to ₦20 million—demonstrates the normalisation of economic exploitation of religious communities, transforming worshippers into financial assets for armed groups. Failure of State Protection Mechanisms Across all documented cases, common factors include: These constitute a systemic failure of the state’s duty to protect. De Facto Restriction of Religious Freedom Although no formal prohibition exists, fear has imposed practical limitations on worship, including: This reflects a transition from legal freedom to constrained practice. Accountability, Justice, and Public Transparency While some arrests have been made in connection with attacks on worshippers, it is essential that these cases proceed to timely and thorough prosecution. Perpetrators must face appropriate legal consequences, and outcomes should be publicly communicated. Visible justice not only strengthens deterrence but also rebuilds public confidence in the state’s ability to protect vulnerable communities. Analysis: Freedom of Religion Under Threat The situation in Nigeria reflects a critical shift: freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed but operationally compromised. The consistent targeting of worshippers by non-state actors, combined with inadequate state response, constitutes a violation of Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights law. The state’s inability to secure places of worship, particularly in rural areas, amounts to a failure of due diligence, as defined under international human rights standards. Recommendations We respectfully urge the UN Special Rapporteur to: Engage the Government of Nigeria on the Rural Protection Policy Call for a National Protection Framework Encourage Nigeria to establish a National Rural and Religious Site Protection Policy, including: Promote Accountability Mechanisms Support Early Warning and Community Protection Systems Conclusion The evidence presented demonstrates that in Nigeria, the right to worship is increasingly exercised under conditions of fear, coercion, and insecurity. The persistence of attacks on churches, through killings, abductions, and ransom extortion, reveals a structural gap between legal commitments and lived realities. Without urgent intervention, the continued erosion of security around religious practice risks transforming freedom of religion from a guaranteed right into a conditional and dangerous activity.orming freedom of religion from a guaranteed right into a conditional and dangerous activity.

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Protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief in Nigeria Through Police Reform: Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief

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Submitting Organizations: African Center for Religious Freedom and Peacebuilding Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria Christian Awareness Initiative of NigeriaKaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria Nigeria Evangelical FellowshipShao, Kwara State, Nigeria The Gideon & Funmi Para-Mallam Peace FoundationJos, Plateau State, Nigeria Theo-Sight Institute for Research and AdvocacyAbuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria 21WilberforceFalls Church, Virginia, United States This submission examines the intersection of policing and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). It uses the 18 January 2026 attack on three churches in Kurmin Wali village, Kaduna State, as a case study to highlight challenges and identify solutions to protect religious freedom in Nigeria. Drawing on this analysis, our organizations recommend that the Nigerian government adopt more effective policing strategies to safeguard FoRB. These include securing places of worship, decentralizing policing, integrating religious leaders into policing efforts, and strengthening partnerships with the international community. Attack on Kurmin Wali Community During Sunday Morning Worship Researchers from two of our partner organizations conducted field visits on 21 January and 3 March to the Kurmin Wali community in Kaduna State, which was the site of an attack targeting the village and its places of worship.[1] On Sunday, 18 January 2026, dozens of armed bandits riding motorcycles attacked three churches during morning worship services: Kurmin Wali Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Albarka Cherubim and Seraphim Church, and Haske Attack on Kurmin Wali Community During Sunday Morning Worship Researchers from two of our partner organizations conducted field visits on 21 January and 3 March to the Kurmin Wali community in Kaduna State, which was the site of an attack targeting the village and its places of worship.[1] On Sunday, 18 January 2026, dozens of armed bandits riding motorcycles attacked three churches during morning worship services: Kurmin Wali Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Albarka Cherubim and Seraphim Church, and Haske Cherubim and Seraphim Church. A villager promptly called a military checkpoint only a few kilometers away to report the attack. The military personnel called their superior officer, who told them to wait for backup. By the time soldiers arrived, the bandits had left with scores of kidnapped victims. Our researchers worked with the Kurmin Wali village head to verify 89 worshipers were abducted (not 177 as widely reported). Residents testified the 18 January 2026 attack was only the latest of more than twenty attacks since 2022, including the abduction of 22 worshipers the prior Sunday, 11 January, costing the community 2.6 million naira in ransoms, according to pastor Micah Akan, chairman of the local Afogo Ward of the Christian Association of Nigeria. The captives were held for over a week before all were ransomed and released to Kaduna officials of the Department of State Services. Senior security and political authorities—including Kaduna State Police Commissioner Muhammad Rabiu and Kajuru Local Government Area Chairman Dauda Madaki—issued initial statements that contradicted or downplayed reports of the attack.[2] Community leaders reported that access to the village was temporarily restricted for independent observers and media. While authorities eventually acknowledged the attack, their initial actions undermined public trust and reinforced perceptions of institutional unwillingness to address rural insecurity. The attack on Kurmin Wali is not an isolated incident but part of a recurring pattern of coordinated violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt that interferes with the exercise of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). Attacks during major religious observances have repeatedly occurred in recent years. In Plateau State alone, on this year’s Palm Sunday at least 27 people were killed in Angwan Rukuba (29 March 2026), reviving the pain of last year’s Palm Sunday when 51 people were killed in Zike (13–14 April 2025). Both occurred in predominantly Christian communities in Plateau, as did the December 2023 Christmas Eve attacks in the state’s Local Government Areas of Bokkos and Bassa which destroyed churches and killed over 140 civilians. If implemented, the following recommendations can help prevent FoRB-violating attacks like the ones in Kurmin Wali, Angwan Rukuba, Zike, and Bokkos by improving anticipation, deterrence, and prevention. 1.   Protect Places of Worship UN General Assembly resolution 77/221 (2022) urges states “to ensure, in particular, the right of all persons to worship, assemble or teach in connection with a religion or belief.”[3] The attacks in Kurmin Wali and throughout the Middle Belt region underscore the urgent need to protect places of worship in Nigeria. Such sites have become frequent targets of violence due to their vulnerability. The targeting of multiple churches during worship services indicates a pattern of attacks that interferes with the exercise of FoRB. Recommendations: Local/State Level Federal Level One example mechanism is the National Conflict Early Warning Early Response System (NCEWERS), created by a Nigerian government think tank, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution. It is a nationwide mechanism that collects real-time data on conflict risks, analyzes it through a central situation room, and triggers preventive responses to stop violence before it escalates. It brings together community monitors and local peace committees, state-level coordinators, federal government institutions, security agencies, civil society, and traditional leaders in a coordinated system.[4] 2.   Decentralize Policing Nigeria’s current centralized policing structure, which permits only a federal force, has proven insufficient to address insecurity, particularly in rural regions. The Nigerian government’s failure to respond quickly to the attack at Kurmin Wali reflects a broader pattern: security forces often receive advance warning of attacks but fail to act in time to prevent deaths or kidnappings. The UN Human Rights Committee affirmed that it is the responsibility of all states “to take special measures of protection towards persons in vulnerable situations […] They may also include members of ethnic and religious minorities. States parties must respond urgently and effectively in order to protect individuals who find themselves under a specific threat…”[5] Decentralized policing is a step the Nigerian government can take to effectively protect those under threat. While decentralization may improve responsiveness, safeguards are necessary to prevent political misuse, discrimination, or uneven protection across states. Recommendations: Local/State Level Federal Level 3.   Adopt an All-of-Society Approach to Policing Effective protection of FoRB requires more than institutional reform. It

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Nigerian Authorities Must Act to Prevent Violence during Holy Week

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Vol 1. Special release We, the undersigned organizations, mourn the tragic loss of life following two attacks carried out around Palm Sunday that killed dozens of innocent civilians and left many others injured, or abducted. Late on Saturday night, March 28, 2026, armed attackers assaulted a wedding ceremony in Kahir Village, Kagarko Local Government Area (LGA), in Kaduna State, an area bordering the Federal Capital Territory. The attackers killed at least 12 people, injured others, kidnapped approximately 25 people, and looted the surrounding community. On Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026 in the evening, gunmen attacked a community market square in Angwan Rukuba, Jos North LGA, Plateau State. The attackers killed at least 27 people and injured many others in this part of the city of Jos. These despicable acts of violence build on a repeated history of violence during the Christian Holy Week leading up to Easter celebrations. On Easter Sunday, 8 April 2012, a suicide car bomb targeting church services in Kaduna killed at least 38 people. During the 2014–2015 Boko Haram insurgency peak in Borno and Yobe States, repeated Easter-season threats and attacks forced churches to scale down Easter gatherings. Similarly, in 2019, rural communities in Bassa and Barkin Ladi areas of Plateau State experienced killings during the Easter period. Most recently in 2025, the Zike Massacre in Kwall District, Bassa LGA in Plateau State on Palm Sunday, left over 50 Christians dead. Taken together, these incidents demonstrate that Easter creates predictable opportunities for attacks on large Christian gatherings. Without urgent government intervention, these recurring vulnerabilities point to a high risk of further deadly attacks during the 2026 Easter period. The Nigerian authorities rightly condemned this recent wave of violence. But words are not enough. Authorities must ensure that all perpetrators are swiftly identified and held accountable. We call on Nigerian authorities to deploy security personnel to protect worshipers and Christian communities during this 2026 Easter season. Security measures must be more effectively implemented and strengthened to prioritize prevention, not only reactive response after attacks have occurred. Let there be no further bloodshed. For our Lord and Father hates those who shed innocent blood, who devise wicked schemes, who rush into evil, and who stir up conflict in the community (Proverbs 6). Signatures: African Center for Religious Freedom and Peacebuilding Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria Christian Awareness Initiative of NigeriaKaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria Nigeria Evangelical FellowshipShao, Kwara State, Nigeria Para-Mallam Peace FoundationJos, Plateau State, Nigeria Theo-Sight Institute for Research and AdvocacyAbuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria 21WilberforceFalls Church, Virginia, United States

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Standing on the Graves: Unmasking the Plight of West Africa’s Persecuted Christians

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Volume 1, Number 2 In June and July 2025, West Africa witnessed a distressing surge in violence, particularly against Christian communities. One of the most heart-wrenching episodes occurred in Yelewata, Benue State, Nigeria, where a coordinated night attack by Fulani herdsmen spanned from 10:30 pm to 3:00 am on Saturday, June 14. Yelewata, a predominantly Christian farming community, became the latest victim of a pattern that has now become painfully familiar across Nigeria’s Middle Belt and beyond. Over 200 individuals were reportedly killed, including a young pharmacy graduate. Eyewitnesses recounted how the attackers chanted “Allahu Akbar” while burning down homes and food stores worth over ₦27 million—deliberately targeting the people’s source of livelihood. While the Nigerian Inspector General of Police cited 47 deaths and 100 displacements, local activists and survivors provided much higher figures. Bodies were found charred in homes, on the streets, and even in churches. In one house alone, 40 people were slaughtered. In another, 30 people lost their lives.  What was found at daybreak was a flood of blood in some houses. Pregnant women and the elderly were not spared. Photo of a blood flood in one of the houses attacked. Credit: Verydark man video with eyewitnesses, June 2025 This atrocity is not isolated. The Fulani herdsmen crisis has evolved from spontaneous clashes into what survivors now see as systematic, militarised, and religiously motivated terror. The protesters in Benue were clear in their message. “We are standing on the dead bodies of our mothers, children and fathers,” cried Mimidoo Williams, one of the protest leaders. She added that more than 5,000 people had been displaced in Benue alone since 2024. Protesters carried rosaries, held placards, and wept publicly. Some walked with women and children who were left homeless and traumatised. This pattern of violence is not limited to Nigeria. In Mali, the national army recently claimed victory against jihadists by capturing a key ISIS leader. Similar stories of Islamist violence have emerged from Burkina Faso, where Christian villages have been attacked, and Niger, where churches have been torched. The spread of jihadist groups in the Sahel and the weakening of state authority have made Christians and religious minorities easy targets. Photo of a man burnt beyond recognition in the Benue killing attack. Credit: Very dark survivor’s visit Why is Benue, in particular, under constant siege? Two key reasons emerge: religion and land. Benue is Nigeria’s “food basket,” with vast fertile lands that support a thriving farming economy. It is also one of the states with the highest Christian population in the country. Survivors insist that the attacks are both an economic conquest and a religious persecution. Despite warnings issued by the Fulani herdsmen before the attacks, security forces failed to respond decisively. Civil society figures such as human rights activist “Very Dark Man” visited Yelewata, confirming the scale of the massacre and amplifying survivor testimonies. His footage documented the mass destruction, confirming that women, children, and pregnant mothers were not spared. As the region mourns, one truth rings clear: the blood of West Africa’s innocents is crying out for justice. Until there is a robust national and international response, Christian communities in Nigeria and across the region will continue to pay with their lives. By: Godwin Adeboye

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Where Is the Police?

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Volume 1, Number 1 When the night burned and no one came, a village was left to bury its own. On the midnight of Sunday, April 13, 2025, Kwall, a small town in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria, became a furnace of flames and fear. Surrounded in the dark by armed men—believed to be Fulani militia from the nearby Kaduna border—villagers awoke to a siege they could not escape. By dawn, 52 Christians lay dead. Bodies charred, food barns torched, families wiped out in their sleep. As the community gathered to bury their dead in a mass grave on April 15, there was one haunting question: Where were the police? The speech made by Mr Kayode Egbetokun while on condolence visit to Plateau state governor suggests that the Police force may not have adequate man power at the moment. The usual situation has been that police have been absent to confront the attackers during attacks. The attack on Kwall in the early hours of Sunday, April 13, 2025, was a highly coordinated and methodical assault carried out under the cover of darkness. According to eyewitness accounts, the assailants—suspected Fulani militias—approached the village from multiple directions, strategically encircling the community to block all possible escape routes. Once the town was surrounded, they launched their assault by setting homes ablaze, many of which still had sleeping families inside. The invaders targeted not only residential structures but also essential survival infrastructure: food barns, grain reserves, and small shops were deliberately torched. This left the surviving community in utter devastation, not only mourning the loss of lives but also stripped of their means to feed themselves. In the aftermath, children could be seen scavenging through the rubble for scraps of food, while mothers resorted to boiling wild leaves to feed their infants. The tactical nature of the attack—surround, incinerate, and starve—suggests a calculated effort not just to kill but to destroy the community’s ability to recover. Bullet Hole on the wall. Photo Credit: Awoyemi Emmanuel Oluwaseunayo, Theo-sight Media This massacre was not the first. Nor was it random. Over the years, Irigwe Christians have faced recurring attacks that follow a clear pattern—coordinated, militarized, and executed with precision. Survivors say the attackers spoke Fulfulde. Some came through the thick bushes bordering Kaduna. No boundaries. No police posts. No protection. “I locked my four children in the room when I saw the fire,” said one mother, now a widow. “When I came back, I found them hugging each other. Burnt.” Eyewitnesses describe a practice of abandonment. The military base nearby remained unresponsive. No gunshots fired. “They told us there was no order to intervene,” one man said, tears tracing his ash-covered face. Speaking to one of the victim’s wives who is Pregnant. Photo Credit: Awoyemi Emmanuel Oluwaseunayo, Theo-sight Media Two days after the attack, Governor Caleb Mutfwang visited Kwall. Standing before the community, he apologized. “I am sorry this happened,” he said. But sorrow cannot replace justice. There have been no known arrests. No known investigation. Just silence. The community women who lost their husbands and children cried with no hope of stopping as they saw the governor. The scene was horrible. Beneath the silence is a strategy. Locals say this violence is not only religious—it is territorial. Fertile Irigwe land is the prize. “They want to frustrate us so we leave,” said an elderly man. “But this land carries our ancestors’ bones.” In the absence of state protection, theology steps in. The mass grave becomes a sacred space—a site of martyrdom. But theology must not become resignation. It must be resistance. This is where reframing matters. These are not just victims; they are witnesses. Their graves tell a story Nigeria refuses to hear. We must reframe the silence—not as absence but as indictment. We must ask: who benefits from erasure? Who writes the headlines? Who names the martyrs? As Nigeria prepares for the 2027 elections, we must ask every candidate: Where were you on April 13, 2025? Where are the police? To prevent further tragedies like the Kwall massacre, two urgent practical steps must be taken. First, a functional police post must be established in Kwall, supported by a community-based policing model. The complete absence of security infrastructure in the town enabled the attackers to act with impunity. Locally trained personnel who understand the terrain and community dynamics could respond swiftly to threats and build trust with residents. Second, there is a pressing need for clarification of the boundary between Plateau and Kaduna States. Kwall’s geographic position at the intersection of both states has turned it into a lawless buffer zone. Attackers exploit this jurisdictional grey area, crossing state lines with ease and escaping accountability. Clear boundary demarcation, interstate cooperation, and the deployment of joint security task forces are essential to sealing off safe routes used by criminal groups. Children who lost their parents and shelter. Photo Credit: Awoyemi Emmanuel Oluwaseunayo, Theo-sight Media Beyond security infrastructure, both theological and community-level responses must be strengthened. Ecclesial advocacy should lead the way. Churches must convene national synods that focus explicitly on the protection and safety of rural Christians and their communities. Collaborations with international Christian bodies can unlock resources for security, relief, and legal support. Local vigilante teams already active in many villages should be equipped, recognized, and legitimized by law. Ethical documentation is equally critical—there must be a coordinated effort to preserve the memory of victims and martyrs through national archives, and digital platforms that resist erasure. Additionally, survivor support, particularly for widows and children, is a moral and humanitarian imperative. Tailoring training programs, Mobile training programs, trauma counseling, and micro-grants for small businesses can empower these women to rebuild their lives with dignity. Finally, the Church must embrace a theology of resistance—training pastors to interpret suffering as a call to resilient faith, and incorporating such theology into seminary curricula. Hope must be preached not as escapism but as spiritual defiance against systems that aim to silence and exterminate. The massacre in Kwall is not merely a security failure. It is a spiritual, humanitarian, and national emergency. It poses urgent questions: Who

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