Soldiers from Operation Enduring Peace Arrived 8 Hours after the Attack
By Masara Kim
(Jos) Twelve Christians were killed when terrorists opened fire on a group of young miners at a camp outside Jos in central Nigeria, on Tuesday, December 16, TruthNigeria has learned. The attack, approximately 30 miles south of the Plateau State capital, followed less than a week after American missionary Judd Saul warned of imminent terror threats in Plateau and surrounding areas during the Christmas season.
The latest assault adds to a string of attacks in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, which have claimed at least 20 Christian lives since Saul—founder and Director of Equipping the Persecuted Initiative—issued his viral warning video. Nigerian authorities dismissed the alert as false and failed to act, despite growing global concern over unchecked terrorism in Africa’s most populous nation, which has triggered U.S. sanctions.
The attack in Barkin Ladi County (Local Government Area) followed repeated warnings by TruthNigeria, including a terror alert issued three hours before the incident, naming Nding village as a primary target. Survivors said the attackers spoke Fulani and shouted “Allahu Akbar” during a 30–45-minute assault on the outskirts of Nding, with no intervention from soldiers stationed just 2–3 miles away.
Witnesses reported that heavily armed assailants approached Atoso village—part of Nding in Fann district—around 11 p.m., using surrounding hills and the cover of darkness under a thin crescent moon. They stormed an isolated mining camp, killing 12 and injuring at least five. Three people remain missing, with locals alleging abductions.
“Look at human lives wasted,” said Dalyop Solomon, President of the Berom Youth Association, pointing to the victims’ bodies. “They were innocent people mining to feed their families—not rustlers, not thieves,” Solomon said. “They were contributing to this country’s development. But today, they are lifeless,” he stated, criticising the military’s late response.
According to Choji Jak Dung, the youth leader of Fann, soldiers from Operation Enduring Peace arrived eight hours after the incident. Only scattered civilian guards from surrounding villages attempted resistance but were overwhelmed.
“We had received alerts about planned attacks,” Dung told TruthNigeria, acknowledging advance warnings. “Two days ago, they tried to attack Nding Sesut but were repelled. Yesterday, they came back pretending to be miners. By the time anyone realised, the killings had started.”
Police and army officials have not responded to inquiries from TruthNigeria. At the scene on 17 December, Col. V.O. Asuquo, Commander of Operation Enduring Peace, listened silently as Solomon urged residents to arm themselves.
“If it were cows belonging to the Fulani that were harmed, our people would have been harassed by now,” Solomon said, citing previous attacks that killed eight, including four children. “We will no longer tolerate this. The military must rise—or we will.”
Barkin Ladi Chairman Stephen Gyang Pwajok echoed the call for action:
“Security is everybody’s business. These attacks keep recurring—last week in Dorong, now in Fann. The agencies are trying, but daily attacks are spiralling out of control.” As reported by TruthNigeria, four children were murdered by a band of 30 men with assault rifles on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. National Nigerian media downplayed the 30-minute assault as a reprisal for cattle rustling, which remains disputed.
State Assemblyman Dickson Chollom criticised the military’s failure to act on advance intelligence.
“We are beginning to see a wave of attacks which is a recurring decimal – it’s a circle we’ve been experiencing especially during the Yuletide,” Chollom said.
“But one thing that is devastating is that there’s always been advance warnings of attacks,” said Chollom. “Yet, they will still happen”, he said, demanding full military raids of identified terrorist camps.
“This is pure terrorism, calculated to wipe out a race,” Chollom told TruthNigeria. “If you call it farmer-herder clashes, there’s no farming or herding at night when these attacks happen,” he said. “We need full military raids on identified camps,” demanded Chollom, who represents Barkin Ladi.
“I have held a series of meetings with the military and police and have organised a security summit for all my constituents coming up on December 22,and what I have gathered so far is that while the securities are doing their best, the terrorists are always tactical. They always tend to go for soft targets. Yet, a different strategy must be taken if we want different results,” he stressed.
Masara Kim is an award-winning conflict reporter in Jos, Nigeria, and Senior Editor at TruthNigeria.
