Press Release
“Nigeria:
Persecution Knows No Respite”

21 March 2026

The Universal Christian Church of the New Jerusalem denounces, with renewed anguish, the unrelenting wave of deadly assaults against Christian communities in Nigeria – a harrowing testament to a persecution that shows no signs of ending.

On 11 March, Fulani militiamen opened fire on Christian farmers in the Tor-Damisa community in Donga County, Taraba State, killing four civilians and three police officers who intervened in their defence. This region, currently sheltering thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from villages destroyed in previous months, has been the site of systematic attacks since the beginning of the year. These raids have claimed dozens of lives and forced the abandonment of more than 20 villages.

On the same day, armed assailants raided the village of Oyatedo in Kwara State, murdering John Omoniyi Ajise, a devout member of the local Christian community, and abducting his wife along with four other Christians. This incident is part of a persistent sequence of assaults that are decimating Christian communities across the region, forcing both pastors and families to flee for their lives.

On 14 March, in the Chanchanji district of Taraba State, jihadist militiamen abducted more than ten Christian girls while they were gathering food in the fields, forcing them into the wilderness.

The Church raises her prayers to God the Father for the victims and for all those enduring the daily agony of persecution while reiterating her urgent plea to the international community: “Do not remain indifferent to the martyrdom of Christians in Nigeria”.

“Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can hardships, or distress, or persecution?
No; we come through all these things triumphantly victorious, by the power of He who loved us”.
(Rm 8:35,37)