In a chilling overnight attack that has once again shaken the nation’s conscience, at least 51 Christian residents of Zikke village in the Kwall District of Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State, were brutally murdered between midnight and 1:30 a.m. on April 14, 2025.
Eyewitnesses and local community leaders say the assailants, suspected to be armed jihadist militants, stormed the quiet rural settlement while villagers were asleep, setting homes ablaze and killing indiscriminately.
The massacre, described by survivors as methodical and merciless, left behind a trail of blood and devastation, including entire families wiped out.
The victims range from toddlers as young as 3 years old to elderly individuals in their 90s.
Among the deceased were children, mothers, and entire households, highlighting the gruesome and indiscriminate nature of the violence.
Names released by local authorities include:
Musa Dako, 64
Menche Stephen, 7
Nema Stephen, 4
Margaret Morris, 6
Reuben Adamu, 94
…and 46 others (full list withheld here for brevity, available upon request).
Local officials have condemned the killings, while families mourned amid the ruins of what used to be a peaceful farming community.
Community leaders say warnings of potential threats had been raised but little preventive action was taken, leaving villagers exposed.
“This is nothing short of evil,” said one grieving resident, barely able to speak through tears. “We are being hunted, and the world is watching in silence.”
Security forces have yet to issue a formal statement on the identity of the attackers, though similar assaults in the region have been attributed to extremist groups operating with impunity across central Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
The Plateau State government has reportedly dispatched security personnel to the area, but locals say the response came too late.
Human rights advocates are once again raising alarms over the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria’s rural Christian communities, particularly in Plateau, Benue, and southern Kaduna, calling for urgent and impartial investigations.
As the nation reels from this tragedy, calls for justice, accountability, and lasting peace grow louder.
