Press Release
“Nigeria:
Massacre During the Easter Vigil”

6 April 2026

The Universal Christian Church of the New Jerusalem expresses her profound grief at the brutal killing of brothers and sisters in Nigeria on Easter night — the very day Christianity celebrates the victory of the Risen Christ over sin and death.

On the evening of 4 April, as the Christian community of Mbalom in the Gwer East district of Benue State was gathering for the Easter Vigil, Fulani jihadist militiamen opened fire on residents and set their homes ablaze. The death toll stands at no fewer than seventeen victims among the faithful. Families who had gathered to pray and celebrate the Resurrection were caught up in the violence and were forced to flee into the surrounding countryside.

From Palm Sunday to the night of Easter, Holy Week 2026 has become for Nigerian Christians an unbroken Calvary of bloodshed and suffering: the attack in Jos, the massacre in Kautikari near Chibok, and now the slaughter in Mbalom form a harrowing sequence of atrocities that cries out for justice before God and men.

In a profound embrace of love for the families affected by persecution and for those who suffer for their faith, the Church raises her supplication to the Risen Lord, praying that the light of Holy Easter may pierce even the thickest darkness of persecution and rekindle the faith of countless people through the sacrifice of these martyrs.

“Because I live and you will live”
(Jn 14:19)