UMVA has learned that a trail of blood has been left across rural communities in Nigeria's Middle Belt, with dozens dead and countless others injured in a series of brutal attacks.
The violence began on June 10, when two village security watchmen were killed while on patrol in an attack that sources suspect involved the use of drones and night-vision goggles. They were given a mass burial on June 15, but the bloodshed did not stop there.
On June 16, suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked Angwan Magaji in Kamaru Ward, Kauru Local Government Area, Kaduna State, killing nine people and injuring eleven others. The victims included men, women, and children, with some as young as four and five years old.
That same night, in Dantanko, an Irigwe community in Miango District of Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State, a 48-year-old father of four was shot and killed behind his home by armed men described as Fulani gunmen speaking Fulfulde.
The attacks continued unabated, with five people killed at a mining site in Gero Village, Gyel District, Jos South Local Government Area, and a prominent Christian district leader ambushed and killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen while returning home from a traditional council meeting.
As the violence escalated, a local team sent a series of screenshots tracking the abduction of eight Christians as they traveled home from a Christian conference. Their vehicle could be seen following the route toward their destination before stopping after they reportedly came under the control of kidnappers.
The fate of these victims can be predicted based on interviews with former kidnapping victims, who report being tortured and forced to contact their families to demand ransom payments. Many survivors report being beaten repeatedly and denied food and water for days at a time while in captivity.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that the Christian Association of Nigeria declared Sunday, June 14, a nationwide "Black Sunday" to mourn victims of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and violent attacks across Nigeria. The observance marked the culmination of a three-day national mourning and prayer period.
The declaration came at the conclusion of a National Church Denominational Leadership Summit, where church leaders officially designated June 14 as Black Sunday and called attention to the worsening security crisis affecting millions of Nigerians.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the Christian Association of Nigeria's President emphasized that Black Sunday honored "the countless victims of insecurity, men, women, children, clergy, farmers, students, and entire communities whose lives have been shattered by violence, kidnapping, terrorism, banditry, and bloodshed."
The three-day mourning period coincided with Nigeria's Democracy Day on June 12, with the Christian Association of Nigeria's President saying, "As we mark this solemn Black Sunday, we are mindful that our period of mourning coincided with the celebration of Democracy Day on June 12. Democracy is founded on the sanctity and dignity of human life, the rule of law, justice and the protection of citizens."
The Christian Association of Nigeria urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity, accelerate the implementation of state police and the decentralization of security, secure the unconditional release of kidnapped victims, and ensure justice for those responsible for attacks.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that the violence continued unabated, with additional attacks reported across Nigeria's Middle Belt, including the killing of 218 people and displacement of over 6,000 in a wave of six attacks on predominantly Christian communities in Benue State.
UMVA has gathered that international concern over the violence continues to grow, with a panel of UN Special Rapporteurs warning the Nigerian government about a broader pattern of violence disproportionately affecting Christian communities.
The crisis continues to worsen, with Open Doors' 2026 World Watch List reporting that 3,490 of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith between October 2024 and September 2025 were Nigerians.
