On February 12, 2026, about 50 Catholic priests, nuns, and religious leaders marched through the streets of Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State, Nigeria, in a firm and emotional protest
They denounced what they call the “systematic extermination of Christians” in the southern region of the state.
The group gathered to demand urgent action from the government, accused of demonstrating criminal indifference to mass killings that have intensified since September 2025.
The march ended with a press conference at the Catholic Secretariat, where Church leaders reported a veritable campaign of terror: more than 100 people have already been killed and more than 90,000 Catholics have been forced to abandon their homes.
All of this is happening in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, an area where the predominantly Muslim north meets the predominantly Christian south, where religious and ethnic tensions have been dividing the country, Africa’s most populous nation, with approximately 230 million inhabitants divided almost equally between Muslims and Christians.
While the world pays close attention to the extremist group Boko Haram in the northeast of the country, another, even more lethal and less publicized conflict has been devastating the Middle Belt for over a decade.
Church leaders claim that the attacks are not simple squabbles between herders and farmers, as the government often describes them, but a planned ethnic cleansing aimed at seizing land and expelling Christian communities.
Armed Fulani militiamen invade villages at dawn, killing residents while they sleep, burning houses, churches, and entire plantations.
On February 10th, for example, ten people were murdered at 5:30 a.m.
in the village of Mchia.
In regions like Chanchanji, in Takum, and parts of Ussa and Donga, more than 200 communities and churches have been destroyed.
Between February 1st and 11th, 2026, more than 80 Christians were killed-and this number may still increase, as bodies continue to be found in the forest.
The aggressors have seized entire farms, attack those who try to harvest, rape women who go out to find food, and block roads to ambush farmers.
Recently, the militiamen themselves have begun harvesting the captured crops and using the food to feed their livestock.
Local nuns and priests assure that these Fulani are not from the southern Taraba region, do not speak the local languages, and have only recently begun to appear.
For them, this has nothing to do with a dispute over pasture-it is a violent land occupation.
Priests like Father George Dogo of the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Takum, Father Moses Angean of the Diocese of Wukari, and Sister Thelma Otuonye described the situation with indignation: every day Christians are killed-sometimes one, sometimes two, sometimes ten at a time.
Women are raped, families expelled, and lands seized.
“This is genocide to me,” stated one of the priests.
Following the protest, Father James Yaro presented alarming figures: more than 80 farmers killed in just 90 days in the Takum, Donga, and Ussa areas, more than 200 churches and communities destroyed, and 90,000 Catholics displaced since September 2025. He issued an ultimatum: if the state government does not guarantee security, the Church will seek international aid.
Among the demands are the immediate deployment of security forces to the affected areas, the prosecution of those responsible regardless of ethnicity or religion, urgent humanitarian aid for the displaced (food, bedding, hygiene products, medicine, and temporary shelter), and serious dialogue between traditional, religious, and political leaders.
Without these measures, they warn, a severe humanitarian crisis will be inevitable.
To make matters worse, the state governor, Kefas Agbu-who is Christian-has not visited the southern region of Taraba nor made any statement condemning the attacks.
Church leaders and organizations such as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the cultural group Mdzough U Tiv harshly criticize him for his lack of action and protection for vulnerable communities.
The southern region of Taraba is inhabited by indigenous Christian peoples, such as the Tiv, Jukun, and Kuteb, who have cultivated these lands for generations.
In districts such as Wukari, Takum, and Donga, Christians represent more than 97% of the population.
Despite all the suffering, church leaders maintain hope: with faith in God and constant prayer, they believe that lasting peace is still possible.
The crisis extends beyond Nigeria.
Religious persecution in the Middle Belt worries American authorities and international advocates for religious freedom.
If Christian farming communities are not protected, instability could spread further into the Sahel region of West Africa, where jihadist groups are already exploiting ethnic and religious divisions to gain ground.
Published in 02/14/2026 16h30
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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