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JOHANNESBURG: A Nigerian Pastor highlighted by President Trump on social media, says that nine members of his household have been killed. The minister is an outspoken critic of the killing of Christians by radicalized Muslim members of the Fulani militia.
Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo now says that the identical militia has issued a demise risk towards him. Dachomo, is the regional chief of the Church of Christ in Nations, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
The State Department and a number one U.S. non-profit Christian group have demanded the Nigerian authorities take extra motion to cease what the State Department described to Fox News Digital as “a stunning degree of violence against Christians.“
Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, regional chief of the Church of Christ in Nations, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, preaching at a funeral of murdered Christians. (Truth Nigeria/ Masara Kim)
Multiple sources reported 9 of his prolonged household have been killed in an assault on their household compound within the Riyom district of Plateau State on July 12. A two-month-old child is alleged to be amongst these killed. The attackers have been allegedly in search of Dachomo, reportedly asking as they arrived “where is the father of this house?” including, “Today, you will learn a hard lesson,” earlier than opening fireplace indiscriminately.
This previous week, he posted on X: “A few days ago, Fulani herdsmen sent a threatening letter to me and to members of my church. It’s message was terrifying. They vowed to attack me and kill me soon, just as they killed nine of my relatives.”
The pastor continued, “I know what it means to stand before grieving families whose only crime was refusing to deny Jesus Christ.”
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People praying over the coffins of murdered Christians in Nigeria. (Truth Nigeria/ Masara Kim)
“Now they say I will be next. But I ask the world, what is my crime?” he posted. “Is my crime that I inform the tales of persecuted Christians in Nigeria, so the world won’t neglect them?”
“The Islamist Fulani ethnic militia hate Pastor Ezekiel and targeted him because he is waking up Christians to the reality of what they are facing,” Judd Saul, founding father of Equipping the Persecuted, a nonprofit, advised Fox News Digital. Saul’s group works to finish non secular persecution in Nigeria, particularly aiming to finish radical Islamist violence towards Christians.
By the top of 2025, Dachomo stated he had to conduct over 70 mass burials of Christians. The burials have continued this yr, with the publish highlighted by President Trump exhibiting the pastor presiding over the funeral of some 20 believers.
Saul believes the killing will proceed, saying “Equipping the Persecuted have documented overwhelming evidence that the Islamist Fulani ethnic militia are responsible for the vast majority of killings of Christians in Nigeria. Within the last week alone, over 40 Christians have been killed, and we have been warning that there are major attacks about to occur within the next few days.”
Islamic Fulani militias are by far the deadliest persecutors of Christians in Nigeria, in accordance to a six-year examine performed by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) simply printed. The examine discovered that the community of Fulani militias is accountable for 4 instances extra civilian deaths than the 2 outstanding Islamic terror organizations, Boko Haram, and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) mixed. Boko Haram was beforehand allied to Al Qaeda, and ISWAP is at present linked to ISIS.
Judd Saul, founding father of Equipping the Persecuted with Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo. (Judd Saul/Equipping the Persecuted)
The ORFA report reveals that terror-related violence killed 79,323 individuals from 2019 to September 2025 in Nigeria. This equates to 36 individuals a day. Islamic Fulani accounted for 44% of the deaths — way over the 12% that Boko Haram and ISWAP killed mixed.
Referring to the killings of Dachomo’s household, a State Department spokesperson advised Fox News Digital, “We have seen reports of the killing of nine Christians in Plateau State in Nigeria. There remains a shocking level of violence against Christians in the Middle Belt committed by Fulani Ethnic Militia.”
“The United States offers its sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of those who lost their lives,” the spokesperson continued, “We unequivocally condemn this heinous act. We urge the Nigerian authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable and take specific steps that will improve security for Christians.”
The spokesperson added, “During meetings with Nigerian officials in Abuja July 13–15, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, and the accompanying U.S. delegation stressed the United States’ grave concern regarding the violence Christians face in Nigeria and the need for concrete action. As President Trump has made clear, the United States will continue to work with the Government of Nigeria to protect Christians and advance religious freedom in Nigeria.”
Funerals for some 27 Christians who have been reportedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen within the village of Bindi Ta-hoss, Nigeria on July, 28, 2025 (Courtesy: Christian Solidarity International (CSI))
The Trump administration has carried out a sequence of air strikes in Nigeria, geared toward stopping the killing of Christians. However, these have all been within the north of the nation, and particularly towards Boko Haram, and ISWAP Islamists. There has been no reported concentrating on of Fulani teams working within the coutry’s Middle Belt.
On this, Equipping the Persecuted’s Saul added, “We want the Trump Administration to put laser focus on the Middle Belt of Nigeria, and the Fulani ethnic militia.”
Dachomo advised Fox News Digital, “We ask President Trump to stop the Fulani terrorists from killing our people in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and surrounding regions. These attacks against Christian communities have been going on for years and must be stopped. We need the United States to stand with us.”
In an X publish, the pastor pleaded to the President of Nigeria: “Tinubu, I am begging you in the name of Jesus, stop Islamic agenda. Muslim(s), they want to finish us. Christian(s) wake up, open your eyes.”
Quoting from the Bible, Psalm 118:6, he added, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do unto me?”
He concluded, “They may threaten my life, but they cannot silence the truth. They may kill the messenger, but they cannot kill the message.”
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Contacted by Fox News Digital, Rabiu Ibrahim, spokesperson on the Nigerian Ministry of Information and National Orientation, provided condolences to the Rev. Dachomo however responded to the pastor’s accusations by saying, “The Government rejects attempts to portray the nation’s security crisis as a conflict between faiths. Such narratives oversimplify a complicated situation and risk serving the interests of criminal groups who seek to exploit existing fault lines, create fear and undermine national cohesion.”
Ibrahim continued, “The unfortunate incident involving Rev. Dachomo’s family is being treated with the seriousness that every loss of Nigerian life deserves. However, allegations regarding the identity, motivation and affiliation of perpetrators must be subjected to proper investigation and established through credible security findings. Nigeria’s security agencies remain committed to thoroughly investigating all attacks and bringing perpetrators to justice, regardless of their identity or background.”
