Equipping The Persecuted, a humanitarian organization, has expressed concern over what it claims is a scheme to murder a large number of people on Christmas Day in certain northern regions. However, the Presidency quickly questioned the group's intentions, stating that the alarm was dubious and may unnecessarily frighten Nigerians.
Judd Saul, the organization's founder, gave a speech at a roundtable discussion organized by the African Jewish Alliance and the International Committee on Nigeria. Frank Wolf, a former congressman, presided over the meeting, which took place on Wednesday in Washington, DC, USA.
Congressmen Riley Moore and Chris Smith, Senator James Lankford, members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and a delegation from Nigeria were reportedly present at the conference.
According to Saul, terrorists have begun to reorganize for the next assaults. "They are assembling forces around the Plateau and Nasarawa border, along the Nasarawa-Benue border, and along the Nasarawa-Kaduna border," he stated. They want to attack Riyom, Bokkos, Kafanchan, and Agatu on Christmas Day.
"We have extremely solid evidence that they are preparing weapons for a massacre on Christmas Day. I'm pleading with President Donald Trump and the Nigerian government to take action so that there are no more dead Christians in Nigeria.
According to what our journalists learned, the meeting was part of a series of discussions aimed at resolving Nigeria's instability and addressing the alleged murders of Christians. According to a source close to the US administration, Saul had formally informed the government, through Moore, of the aforementioned report his organization had received.
"Every congressman present has visited Nigeria several times. Since Bill Clinton was president, they have been active on this issue. The majority of the assailants were categorized as jihadists and terrorists. According to the source, Saul has formally informed the United States through Riley, who will submit a report to President Trump.
It was also discovered that more discussion took place in a separate, closed-door meeting that followed Saul's speech. This meeting's discussions were kept confidential.
According to a top Department of State Services officer in Abuja, the organization was aware of the planned Christmas Day assaults and had taken preventative action. The officer said, "The service is aware; we have the intelligence report, and we are already working on it."
The DSS has stepped up its national intelligence-gathering activities, according to another secret agency agent. "We are aware of the pattern of assaults in such regions. Having spent more than two years in Kaduna, I can attest to the fact that these criminals follow a pattern. Intelligence has always come from us (DSS).
Communities in the Middle Belt have historically been attacked around holiday seasons; therefore, the US NGO's intelligence claim could be accurate. He stated, "But I'm sure the service would have learned of any planned attack by the bandits, and preventive measures would have been put in place."
In 2025, there have been many bandit raids on Riyom and Bokkos in Plateau State. At least six people were killed when bandits raided the Kwi village in Riyom on October 31. At least 32 residents, including women and young children, were slain in a significant attack on Jebu hamlet in the Tahoss District of the same local authority.
About 13 individuals were killed when gunmen broke into the Juwan and Manja settlements in Bokkos and the nearby Mangu local government regions on June 19 and 21 of this year. This year, terror attacks have also occurred in Benue State's Agatu Local Government Area, killing scores.
The worst was in June in the Edikwu Ankpali and Opaha settlements, when at least 28 people—presumably mostly Christians—were slain. Three people were abducted, and a pastor was slain in Anwule village, which is close to the boundary between Agatu and Ohimini, earlier in November.
Additionally, an unknown number of people were reportedly killed, and several others were displaced when suspected Fulani herders stormed Chawai settlements near Kafanchan in Southern Kaduna earlier this month.
Benjamin Hundeyin, the Force Public Relations Officer, did not answer his calls or reply to a text message on the purported scheme. At the time this story was filed, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, the Director of Defense Media Operations, was not available for comment.
Additionally, attempts to obtain answers from the police commanders in Kaduna, Plateau, and Benue were unsuccessful.
As of the time of publication, Udeme Edet, the public relations officer for the Benue State Police, had promised to react to our correspondent, but he had never done so. Additionally, calls from representatives of other states went unanswered.
However, a top official who was not allowed to speak to the press and does not want his name to appear in print said that the appropriate steps will be taken to prevent the assaults. "We will continue to deepen our intelligence penetration and increase surveillance for early warning," he declared. But as of right now, there isn't a precise, detailed Intel.
Alert dismissed by the presidency.
In response, the President rejected the warning, claiming that the group's assertions might incite needless anxiety. The people should exercise caution when disseminating news from outside organizations without first confirming their objectives, according to Mr. Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity.
"We should be very careful how we digest and process some of these dubious reports by external organizations that are setting the stage for an internal crisis in our country," he stated. Reports that exacerbate feelings of fear in our nation shouldn't be given a platform.
"What is the motive and agenda of this organization in raising this kind of alarm about a likely terror attack in the three states and on Christmas Day?" Ajayi continued, questioning the purpose of the notice. Nonetheless, he reassured Nigerians that security forces were ready to stop any danger.
"Our security forces are capable of thwarting any terror attack and keeping us safe, regardless of the motivation," he declared. "Nigerians should not harbor dread anywhere in the nation. The military and police are striving to make sure that Yuletide and Christmas remain calm. The Middle Belt Forum stated that there were compelling signs that the assertion was not far from the truth, even if it had not yet formally received such evidence.
Three weeks before the Yelwata attack, the forum got a similar intelligence tip, according to MBF President Dr. Bitrus Pogu, and immediately notified the appropriate authorities. "We knew three weeks in advance that the Fulani militia would assault the Yelwata village. Thus, Intel could not be far from reality.
However, our current administration hasn't informed us that it has failed. Therefore, the government will be informed to take appropriate action and guarantee that the state's disadvantaged populations, particularly those that are predominantly Christian, are sufficiently safeguarded for Christmas, according to Pogu.
"Officially, it has to be on record that the government is aware of such a mischievous plan to attack, kill, maim, and displace people from their ancestral land, which has been the practice over the years," he continued.
Therefore, we will alert those in government as soon as we receive the intelligence. In the same vein, Josiah Abraks, a representative for the Southern Kaduna Peoples' Union, stated that bandit assaults frequently occur in the area during holiday seasons.
"I don't know all about that. However, attacks at Yuletide have traditionally occurred in southern Kaduna. On Christmas Day, local towns are attacked by bandits, according to Abraks. "All we need to do is beg the security authorities to make sure that security personnel are stationed in key locations around the state throughout the holiday season.
He said, "Secondly, we will implore our communities to mount surveillance and report any strange movement of unknown persons in their areas to the appropriate authorities."