Equipping The Persecuted, a humanitarian group, has raised the alarm about what it calls a plan to kill a lot of people in various northern areas on Christmas Day.
But the administration quickly questioned the group’s motives, saying the notice was questionable and may cause Nigerians to be scared for no reason, according to Saturday PUNCH.
Judd Saul, the founder of the group, spoke in a roundtable meeting that the International Committee on Nigeria and the African Jewish Alliance set up.
Frank Wolf, a former congressman, led the meeting on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., USA.
It was learned that the meeting was also attended by Congressmen Riley Moore and Chris Smith, Senator James Lankford, and members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, as well as several Nigerian delegates.
Saul indicated that terrorists had begun to come together again for the planned strikes.
“They are gathering troops along the Nasarawa-Benue border, the Nasarawa-Kaduna border, and around the Plateau and Nasarawa border,” he said. They are going to attack on Christmas Day in Agatu, Bokkos, Kafanchan, and Riyom.
“We got very good information that they are getting weapons ready for a Christmas Day massacre.” I am begging the Nigerian government and President Donald Trump to do something so that there aren’t a lot of dead Christians in Nigeria.
Our sources say that the meeting was part of a series of talks to deal with Nigeria’s security problems and the alleged massacre of Christians.
A source close to the US administration told our reporter that Saul had officially sent the report his organization acquired to the government through Moore.
“Every congressman at the meeting has been to Nigeria a lot. They have been involved in this since Bill Clinton was president. Most of the attackers were called terrorists or jihadists. “Saul has officially told the US through Riley, who will be writing a report to President Trump about it,” the insider said.
It was also learned that after the meeting when Saul spoke, there was a second meeting behind closed doors where more discussion took place.
No one said what was talked about at this meeting.
A high-ranking official from the Department of State Services in Abuja said that the agency knew about the planned attacks on Christmas Day and had started taking steps to stop them.
“The service knows; we have the intelligence report and are already working on it,” the officer said in a brief contact with our correspondent yesterday.
Another secret service agent indicated that the DSS had stepped up its attempts to acquire information across the country.
“We know how the attacks are going in certain locations. I lived in Kaduna for more than two years, and I can tell you that these criminals always act the same way. We (DSS) have always given information. It is possible that the US NGO’s intelligence assessment is true because towns in the Middle Belt have historically been attacked during holidays.
“But I’m sure the service would have heard about any planned attack by the bandits and taken steps to stop it,” he said.
Bandits have attacked Riyom and Bokkos in Plateau State many times in 2025.
On October 31, bandits raided the Kwi village in Riyom and killed at least six people.
There was also a big attack on the village of Jebu in the same local government’s Tahoss District. At least 32 civilians, including women and babies, were slaughtered.
Gunmen attacked the Juwan and Manja settlements in Bokkos and the neighboring Mangu local government regions between June 19 and 21 this year, murdering roughly 13 people.
It was learned that a lot of attacks on villages in the two local government districts have not been registered.
This year, communities in the Agatu Local Government Area in Benue State have also been attacked by terrorists, killing dozens of people.
The worst one was on June 1 in the Edikwu Ankpali and Opaha settlements, where at least 28 persons, most of whom were thought to be Christians, were slaughtered.
A pastor was killed and three other people were taken hostage in Anwule village, which is close to the Agatu and Ohimini border.
Also, last month, suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked Chawai towns near Kafanchan in Southern Kaduna, killing an unknown number of people and forcing many others to leave their homes.
Benjamin Hundeyin, the Force Public Relations Officer, didn’t answer his calls or texts about the supposed scheme.
As of the time this story was filed, Major General Michael Onoja, the Director of Defence Media Operation, could not be reached for comment.
Also, attempts to elicit answers from the police in Kaduna, Plateau, and Benue were unsuccessful.
Udeme Edet, the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, promised to come back to our reporter but never did by the time this article was published. Spokespeople for other states did not answer their phones when they rang.
But a high-ranking official who doesn’t want his name in print because he wasn’t allowed to talk to the press said that the right steps would be done to stop the attacks.
“We will step up our surveillance to get early warnings and keep getting more information,” he said. But there isn’t any precise comprehensive Intel on this end.
The presidency ignores the alert.
In response, the presidency dismissed the notice, saying that the group’s assertions might cause people to be scared for no reason.
In response to a question from our correspondent, Mr. Temitope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, warned that people should be careful about spreading reports from outside groups without checking their motives.
He stated, “We need to be very careful about how we take in and think about some of these questionable reports from outside groups that are trying to start a crisis in our country.” We shouldn’t give reports that make people feel less safe in our country more oxygen.
Ajayi said, “What is the motive and agenda of this organization in raising this kind of alarm about a likely terror attack in the three states and on Christmas Day?”
He did, however, tell Nigerians that security services were fully ready to deal with any threat.
He said, “No matter what the reason is, our security forces can stop any terrorist attack and keep us safe.”
“Nigerians should not be afraid in any part of the country.” The police and the military are working together to make sure we have a peaceful Christmas and New Year’s.
MBF and SOKAPU want more security.
The Middle Belt Forum noted that even though they hadn’t had any official information yet, there were significant signs that the story was true.
Dr. Bitrus Pogu, the President of the MBF, told our correspondent that the forum got a similar intelligence tip three weeks before the Yelwata attack and quickly told the right people.
“We knew three weeks before the Fulani militia invaded the Yelwata community that it would happen. So, the Intel might not be too far off.
“But we still have a government, and it hasn’t told us that it has entirely failed. Pogu added, “So, the government will be told to do what needs to be done to make sure that vulnerable communities in the state, especially those with a lot of Christians, are safe for Christmas.”
He went on to say, “It has to be on record that the government knows about this evil plan to attack, kill, hurt, and move people from their ancestral land, which has been going on for years.” We will let the government know as soon as we acquire the Intel.
Josiah Abraks, a representative for the Southern Kaduna Peoples’ Union, claimed that communities in the area are routinely attacked by bandits during holidays.
“I don’t know everything about that information. But the southern sections of Kaduna have always been assaulted over the holidays. “Bandits attack communities in the area on Christmas Day,” Abraks claimed.
“We just have to ask the security authorities to make sure that security personnel are stationed in key parts of the state over the holidays.
“Second, we will ask our communities to keep an eye on things and tell the right people if they see any strange movement of people they don’t know in their areas,” he said.
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