Gunmen linked to Fulani militias stormed a family compound in Plateau State, killing a two‑month‑old baby and eight others after asking for the outspoken pastor by name.
‘I cannot run away from my people when I know I am the reason they were killed’— Dachomo
By Masara Kim
(Jos) Nigeria — The man who has given voice to the devastation of 100 million Christians had to bury his own kith and ken on Monday.
Pastor Ezekiel Dachomo, days after renewing a call for self-defense amid what he described as a pitiful response to genocide, buried nine members of his extended family killed by Fulani gunmen. They made clear as they broke into his relatives’ compound Saturday night that they would make him pay for speaking out.
Dachomo, widely known as “Dara” — father in Berom — was regarded as a father and grandfather figure to the victims.
Survivors of the midnight massacre in Kum village in Rim District, Riyom Local Government Area said the attackers asked for the whereabouts of their “father” and declared, “today you will learn a hard lesson,” before opening fire.
As of Wednesday, July 15, rumors of more attacks swirled in communities south of Jos, birthplace of the outspoken preacher. Yet, Dachomo remained rooted in the area, mourning with relatives following the late-night attack on July 11, 2026.
“This is where I grew up with my grandmother,” Dachomo said during the mass funeral on Monday, July 13. “And I know that the people that perpetrated this act knew that I have a connection with this family. The man whose household was attacked is my nephew.”
“This is not the first time they are attacking this community,” he added. “This same way they killed my grandmother Ngo Martha and removed her heart [some years ago], they killed my uncle Dangai and removed his tongue. And they are pressuring us, they want to make sure we leave this community.”
Alert Over Fresh Attacks
On July 15, Christian residents in communities 20 to 35 miles south of Jos were warned to brace for more attacks starting the same day. The region has seen widespread violence in recent years, with at least 200 people killed in the past five months alone, according to local Berom tribal leader and lawyer, Solomon Dalyop.
When TruthNigeria reached out about his safety, his response was brief: “I cannot run away and leave my people when I know I am the reason they were killed.”
Survivor Account
TruthNigeria learned the attack targeted a single household, killing nine family members, including a two-month-old baby. Mr. James Yohanna, one of only three survivors, told TruthNigeria the attackers, who he said spoke Fulfulde, the language of the Fulani tribe, demanded the whereabouts of the “father” of the family before shooting.
Yohanna recounted:
“At about 11:30 p.m., I was in my room. Then I heard dogs barking uncontrollably and the next thing I heard boots tramping. After a while, I heard loud bangs at my brother’s door and soon after, I heard my brother scream. It turned out they were trying to break into the house but he ran outside. They shot him in the arm and leg. However, he managed to hide before the person chasing him could get close.
“Then after about 30 minutes, I heard the dogs barking again and then sounds of boots again. Then I heard gunshots at my son’s door followed by the sound of the door being kicked open. Then I heard my son saying, ‘please don’t harm us.’ But a male voice with a Fulani accent said in Hausa, ‘today you will learn a hard lesson’ after demanding the ‘father of the house.’ When my son failed to answer, they shot him, shot his wife and shot his two-month-old baby.
“At that point I threw my six-year-old daughter through the window and followed, running aimlessly into the bush as one attacker fired several shots at me. When he lost me, he went back into the house and I tried to crawl back, but before I got 20 meters close, they went to the next room where my six daughters were sleeping and I heard automatic gunfire everywhere followed by silence.
Then they started marching out of the house. One of my daughters, a four-year-old who was apparently terrified, screamed, and one of the attackers marched back and shot her. By the time soldiers arrived, and I was able to make it back to the house, my wife, my son and his wife and two-month-old daughter, and my six daughters lay dead.”
Continuing Genocidal Massacres
The attack in Kum has once again raised concerns over civilian safety and what local leaders describe as a pattern of targeted killings aimed at land seizure.
“For far too long, the indigenous peoples of Plateau State and, indeed, other law-abiding citizens have borne the unbearable burden of relentless terror,” Dalyop said during a press conference in Jos on July 15. “Our communities have become theatres of bloodshed; our ancestral lands have been violently invaded; our villages reduced to desolation; our farms abandoned; our economic life strangulated; and thousands of our people condemned to lives of displacement, fear and uncertainty.
“Generations that ought to be building prosperity have, instead, buried loved ones, fled from their ancestral homes, and struggled merely to survive elsewhere,” he added.
“The tragedy of Plateau is no longer an isolated security concern. It has become a protracted humanitarian catastrophe and a profound moral challenge to our collective conscience.”
Lawmaker: ‘Declaration of War’
A member of the House of Representatives, Fom Dalyop Chollom, described the attack as a declaration of war.
“What has happened is sad,” Chollom said during the mass funeral in Kum. “It is a clear manifestation of the fact that these people have declared war on the Christian natives.”
Masara Kim is an award-winning conflict reporter based in Jos, Nigeria, and senior editor at TruthNigeria.com
