Palm Sunday massacre in Nigeria leaves at least 11 dead: report

JOS, Nigeria (LifeSiteNews) — Gunmen killed more than ten people in a Palm Sunday attack in northern Nigeria, prompting authorities to impose a curfew to restore order.

On March 29, Palm Sunday, gunmen attacked the Gari Ya Waye community in Angwan Rukuba, within Jos North Local Government Area in Plateau State, Nigeria. The assault targeted civilians in an area served by the Catholic Archdiocese of Jos and, although the motives and the perpetrators of the attack, as well as the exact number of victims, remain uncertain to this day, the likelihood that it was an Islamist‑inspired terrorist attack is high. Archbishop Matthew Ishaya Audu has urged people not to turn it into “a matter of religions.”

“There were talks … that after [Ramadan] fasting, they are going to attack us, the Christians. Is it one that they are carrying? Is it even a community clash? I don’t know what it is,” he said.

Audu, the ordinary of the Archdiocese of Jos, has urged people not to believe all the information circulating online that assigns responsibility for the massacre to various actors, fueled in part by the many ethno-religious tensions tearing the region apart. “I think the details are not there. If I make a statement, I should do so with conviction and provide a clearer position,” he said.

The exact number of victims is still unknown, but according to Audu, “the reports are saying about 11 people were killed.” Verification has been made difficult by the fact that the Plateau State Government imposed a curfew across the affected area immediately after the attack. Several sources, however, suggest that the death toll is between 11 and 30.

Some witnesses point to the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram as the direct perpetrator, but so far there has been no official claim of responsibility for the attack. The victims are largely Christians, targeted on Palm Sunday in an area that has been struck before by Islamist‑inspired groups.

Audu warned that the curfew could create more problems than it solves. “There is heavy restriction, not even movement of anybody, except maybe the police. They don’t even want to see you walking. As a result, if they don’t manage the curfew well, others may take advantage of the situation and then more killings will occur, and more innocent people will die,” he cautioned.

In response, the archbishop called on the faithful to pray amid the uncertainty, framing the situation within the spiritual context of Holy Week. “Let them pray: that is what we need now. The Cross is only a way to the resurrection,” he added. “We believe all the challenges of life, including what we are facing now, will become a thing of the past