With government support faltering, Equipping the Persecuted delivers critical aid to communities devastated by militia violence.
Humanitarian efforts expand as Fulani militia assaults continue to uproot Christian communities across central Nigeria.
By Ebere Inyama
(Benue State) Moved by the sufferings of Christians in Nigeria, an American missionary, Judd Saul, hosted a 3-day conference in Abuja attended by 1,000 pastors from the Middle Belt region.
The event which was organized in March 2026 by Equipping the Persecuted Initiative, an Iowa-based nonprofit, focused on ways through which Christian leaders operating in the Middle Belt region can get support to enable them to survive amidst terror attacks by Islamic jihadists.
The Middle Belt region refers to the territory stretching across Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria and is made up of 9 states including Plateau, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Benue and Federal Capital Territory.
Hope for terror attack survivors despite abandonment
Thousands of victims of Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) have been abandoned by both the Nigerian authorities and nonprofits advocating for them locally and internationally but Equipping the Persecuted Initiative has remained their only hope, providing them with food, shelter, clothing medical subsidies and combat kits to enable them resist terror attacks,” TruthNigeria has reported.
“ETP held our fifth and largest pastors conference in Abuja this year,’ Founder of Equipping The Persecuted, Judd Saul, wrote in a post via Facebook.
“It was a wonderful success”, the post continued. “Our pastors network continues grow and new connections are made to expand our reach to help those who are afflicted by the persecution and genocide”, Saul’s post read.
In an earlier post via X, Saul had expressed concern over the fate of Christian communities in Nasarawa state.
“In Nasarawa South, some of the worst‑hit Christian communities—especially the Tiv—languish in Internally Displaced Persons camps in Kadarko, Giza, Agyaragu, Umelai and beyond, persecuted, neglected, and effectively forsaken,” Saul wrote in a post via X.
“There are no concrete plans by the government to return them safely to their ancestral lands, nor any meaningful security architecture to guarantee their lives and dignity”, the post continued.
“On Saturday, February 28, 2026, we delivered a consignment of life‑sustaining aid—food, protein sources, mattresses, cutlery, plates and pots, vegetable oil and palm oil, soaps, detergents, lotions, mosquito nets, clothing, and other essential items—to the displaced Christian camps in Kadarko and Giza, including some of our Tiv brethren from the Utyondu axis of Benue State”, Saul’s post read.
A humanitarian perspective
During the 3-day conference in Abuja, Saul provided the pastors in attendance with transportation, food and accommodation, and “deployed funds to help a group from Benue state to bury over 20 people that were massacred” by armed Fulani militia attack on Tyungu Jam and Mbaav communities in Kwande county in Benue State on 6 March 2026.
Recently, Saul provided humanitarian medical aid, including the establishment of a new medical clinic which provided over 200 free surgeries to victims of violence and cared for over 4,000 displaced persons, according to Advocatus Africa.
Love motivated by a people’s resilience and faith
Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on 12 March, 2026, Saul disclosed the driving force behind his decision to help Christians in Nigeria.
“Having come from a place like America and seeing fellow Christians that don’t have the comfort and resources which we have in America and they are struggling every day just to live”, Saul told Channels Television.
“And when I see Nigerians show up on Sunday wearing their Sunday best and giving it all to the glory of God and praising Him despite all their afflictions and despite all their sufferings”, he continued.
“That’s what made me fall in love with them”, Saul added.
Testimonies by witnesses
“I personally want to thank this organization called Equipping The Persecuted and Mr. Saul for they have helped halve the burden I carry,” said the lawmaker representing Agatu Apaa Federal Constituency, Pastor Ojotu Ojema.
“This good work started by the Christian missionary must be sustained,” he continued.
“This is a beacon of hope,” Ojema added.
Following a cash gift of ₦550,000 to 11 women whose husbands were killed by the Fulani militia in August, 2024, the President of Idoma Youths Group, Mike Alidu Magaji, praised Saul’s support.
“We are eternally grateful to the Founder of Equipping the Persecuted for sending help all the way from the USA to our widows”, Magaji had said.
Success achieved over time
Deaths in horrific village massacres in the Middle Belt region dropped to 39 percent from 8,222 in 2023 to 5,023 in 2024, according to TruthNigeria’s reporting.
The reduction was reportedly due to highly accurate terror alerts posted by ETP and its new news site, TruthNigeria.com.
Ebere Inyama is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.