Sources Say Military Halted Operations Despite Reports of Advancing Militias
Satellite Imagery and Field Testimony Point to Widespread Village Destruction
Local Leaders Warn of a ‘Silent Genocide’ as Christian Counties Empty Out
By Mike Odeh James
WASHINGTON–At a Washington D.C. press conference on March 25, 2026, Judd Saul revealed over 90,000 Christians have been evacuated as Fulani Terrorists encircle Southern Taraba communities, according to local residents and security monitors.
The communities of Chenchenji, Ananum, Takum, and Amadu — along with surrounding settlements of Aburabur, Grading, and Nyigba — face imminent coordinated assault. Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) elements have massed along the Donga River corridor, infiltrating under cover of cattle herding, establishing bush camps, and, according to residents, attacking farmers who attempt to reach their fields.
Saul, Founder of Equipping The Persecuted, said his organization had warned of the attacks before they began.
Credit TruthNigeria
“We got words from our sources that Fulani terrorists were massing for an attack on Chanchanji, Wukari and Takum areas in Taraba State,” he said. “For the first time, the Nigerian Army responded. The commander decided to act, so he and his men set out to check out the area and they saw over a thousand Fulani terrorists armed with AK-47s on motorbikes waiting to attack.”
“The army column encountered a line of Fulani ethnic mercenaries massing for an ambush. The army engaged in a firefight for most of a day, exhausting most of its ammunition,” Saul said. “Yet then the officer in charge was ordered to stand down. This action alone appears to prove the theory that the federal government is complicit with the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria,” Saul told the conference.
Since the stand-down order, Saul said fighters have crossed from Cameroon into the Takum–Donga axis since the stand‑down order, and over 90,000 Christians have been evacuated.
The Catholic Diocese of Wukari independently documented the crisis. In a February press briefing, Bishop Mark Maigida Nzukwein described the violence as systematic and deliberate.
A Pattern Written in Ash
On March 17, approximately 100 Fulani Terrorists attempted to overrun Tor-Damisa. Three Mobile Police officers died repelling the assault. On March 13, an armed blockade of the Amadu–Peva road left three civilians dead. On March 21, attackers killed two civilians and burned homes in Akinde Village, Donga County. On March 23, one civilian was killed in Akumen. On March 24, an individual gathering firewood near Takum was reported missing.
Related reporting:
• <a href=”https://truthnigeria.com/2026/03/christians-flee-as-violence-surges-along-taraba-benue-border/”>Christians flee as violence surges along Taraba–Benue border</a> • <a href=”https://truthnigeria.com/2026/02/twin-protests-erupt-as-tiv-christians-accuse-government-of-abandoning-taraba-to-fulani-terrorists/”>Twin protests erupt as Tiv Christians accuse government of abandoning Taraba to Fulani terrorists</a>
• <a href=”https://truthnigeria.com/2026/02/this-is-genocide-nigerian-priests-demand-security-after-200-christian-villages-destroyed/”>“This is genocide”: Nigerian priests demand security after 200 Christian villages destroyed</a>
Two staging areas anchor the threat. New Gboko — 17 kilometres southeast of Chenchenji — is an abandoned settlement used as a forward assembly area. Satellite imagery shows destroyed homes and places of worship. Patupko Camp serves as a consolidation point for movement toward Chenchenji and Amadu.
What Isis Did–And What Is Happening in Taraba
When ISIS swept the Nineveh Plains of Iraq in August 2014, fighters tore down crosses, spray-painted the Arabic letter nun — for Nazarene — on Christian homes, and converted churches into weapons depots. The Mar Behnam Monastery was defaced. Christianity’s presence in Mosul was erased within days.
Local clergy and analysts say the destruction in Taraba follows a similar pattern. At New Gboko, places of worship are reduced to ruins. Crosses are gone. Congregations are gone. The buildings that remain serve the militia.
Sources argue that the key difference between Mosul and New Gboko is not the pattern of destruction but the level of international attention. The UN designated what ISIS did to Yazidis and Assyrian Christians as genocide. The world responded. In Taraba, it has not.
‘They Are Brought in from Chad, Cameroon, and Niger’
Fr. George Dogo, priest of Holy Family Cathedral in Takum, said the identity of the attackers is clear from their conduct and statements.
“The attackers are Fulani Muslims who chant Allahu Akbar when they attack. A lot of them are not Nigerians and most are not even from Taraba. They are brought in from Chad, Cameroon, and Niger Republic to drive away the owners of the land — mainly Tiv and Kutebe.”
Adakole Adam, director of Adamson Security Consultancy, corroborates Fr. Dogo’s account, confirming the attackers are drawn from across Central and West Africa. He adds: “It is with the active connivance of some government officials.”
Residents Challenge Military Response
The Nigerian military’s conduct has deepened the crisis. The Army has moved to dispel vigilante groups — the only organized defense many communities possess — from protecting their own villages.
Adam told TruthNigeria the pattern is deliberate:
“The same Army arrested about 50 Christians of Tiv ethnicity when Fulani terrorists raised a red flag that two Fulanis went missing. However, the same military sat and refused to intervene when Fulani Terrorists attacked, saying they have no mandate or orders to go after the terrorists.”
The Silence of Abuja and Jalingo
<a href=”https://thenewspointer.com.ng/2025/12/14/tiv-leaders-urge-taraba-gov-to-return-idps-end-killings/”>Tiv leaders urge Taraba governor to return IDPs, end killings</a>
Local leaders and analysts say both state and federal officials have remained largely silent in response to the attacks. The Taraba State Governor has not condemned the attacks or demanded military escalation. The Federal Government, Adam told TruthNigeria, prefers silence to reinforce the narrative that no genocide is occurring.
Adam argues that the pattern reflects selective enforcement rather than capacity failure with vigilante defenders arrested and soldiers lacking orders—it is selective enforcement against Indigenous Christian communities. Adam’s verdict: Southern Taraba is ethnic cleansing, a land grab, and genocide.
Displacement has pushed survivors into Amadu, Peva, and Yelwa, straining shelter and food supplies. Farmers cannot reach their fields — a blockade that produces famine as surely as any weapon. The Grading corridor, linking Takum to Katsina-Ala in Benue, threatens to spread the crisis across state lines.
The 93rd Battalion has fought. Its soldiers died at Tor-Damisa. But one battalion cannot hold this corridor against a massed, organized force — when its own deployments have disarmed the communities it is supposed to protect. Without reinforcement, mass civilian casualties in Chenchenji, Ananum, Takum, and Amadu are imminent.
Mike Odeh James is a conflict reporter. He writes for TruthNigeria.
