Washington publicly acknowledges Fulani militant attacks near Jos and urges stronger defense of Middle Belt communities as September’s death toll surpasses 50.
JOS, Nigeria — The U.S. Bureau of African Affairs on Monday affirmed TruthNigeria’s reporting on the escalating attacks against Christian communities in Plateau State, acknowledging that Fulani ethnic militias—violent non‑state actors responsible for severe harm and human‑rights violations—carried out the latest massacres outside Jos. The statement, issued on September 29, renews the Trump Administration’s commitment to protecting persecuted Christians in Nigeria at a moment when the September death toll in Plateau alone has exceeded 50 killed, with near‑daily assaults recorded across Barkin Ladi and surrounding counties.
In a post on X on September 29, the Bureau acknowledged that Fulani militants had carried out massacres and commended Nigeria’s response to the latest violence. The USBAA’s statement is consistent with TruthNigeria’s on-the-ground reporting, which has provided exclusive visual evidence from the scenes of the attacks.
TruthNigeria’s coverage has been widely circulated in recent days, including by American rapper Nicki Minaj, who shared the outlet’s videos with her 26.8 million followers on X.
“We will continue to work with the Nigerian government to protect Christians in the Middle Belt. We urge Nigeria to continue the momentum and defend the Barkin Ladi communities in particular,” the Bureau, led by Assistant Secretary Frank Garcia, stated.
TruthNigeria has consistently reported that attacks on Christian villages across Nigeria’s Middle Belt are carried out by Fulani ethnic militias — a group responsible for six times more Christian deaths than Boko Haram.
But it is only recently that the U.S. authorities have begun to acknowledge it amid a growing narrative war, fueled by Abuja’s mischaracterization of the attacks as “farmer-herder clashes”.
Two Women Killed at Mining Site as Six Others Buried
In the latest attack on Monday, September 28, Fulani militants killed two women at an artisanal mining camp about 20 miles south of Jos, the Plateau State capital. The attack in Barkin Ladi County came just two hours after six victims of a separate attack were buried just five miles away.
Solomon Dalyop, a tribal youth leader in the area, told TruthNigeria the women were shot without provocation on the outskirts of Barkin Ladi, the Barkin Ladi county seat.
“They were not fighting anybody but carrying out their normal business when these terrorist elements who had already sneaked to the location through the surrounding cornfields opened fire at about 4 o’clock in the evening, killing the two women instantly,” Dalyop said.
“These were women who had lost everything and no longer had access to their farms seized by the terrorists. Left with no option to survive, they took to peasant artisanal mining in their backyards. But the terrorists still followed them and killed them in broad daylight,” he added.
TruthNigeria learned the attack occurred shortly after the mass burial of six victims killed on Saturday, September 26, in Lajam, part of the Marit village cluster in western Barkin Ladi.
As previously reported by TruthNigeria, armed terrorists opened fire on nine artisanal miners in Lajam on Saturday. Five were initially confirmed dead, but a sixth body was discovered hours later. Two others were injured.
The Saturday morning attack came 24 hours after Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, a local pastor referenced by President Donald Trump, publicly thanked the U.S. President for advocating for Christians at the 81st United Nations General Assembly. Dachomo made the remarks on Thursday, September 25, during the mass burial of three of his church members killed by Fulani terrorists on September 24.
That killing was the latest in a wave of armed assaults by Fulani militants that has left dozens dead in Plateau and Benue states in recent weeks, including a senior police officer in Barkin Ladi and four junior police officers in Tombo, Logo county of Benue State. Plateau has remained the worst-hit state in the country, with near-daily attacks recorded, predominantly in Barkin Ladi.
Global Attention
TruthNigeria’s exclusive video of Dachomo speaking from the edge of a mass grave on Friday, September 25, has been widely shared across mainstream and social media.
Among those who reposted it is American rapper Nicki Minaj, who has publicly backed President Trump’s religious freedom advocacy. Minaj shared two of TruthNigeria’s recent videos, adding the prayer: “Lord, if we hear from you, then we will know what to do.”
Masara Kim is an award-winning conflict reporter based in Jos and senior editor of TruthNigeria.
