Pastor Samuel was killed on Sept. 20 in the Kantoma community. His wife gave his name at his funeral on Sept. 25. Four days after he fell, the killing spread to other villages. On Sept. 24, two Christians died at a mining site in Kworos Gangare village. They were Phillip Luka, 25, and Sunday John, 34. Two more were killed in Nghar village, and two in Rubung. In Gassa village three men died: Ishaya Pam Dung, 47, Barnabas Gyang Jack, 23, and Manasseh Luka Mushwer, 26. Community leader Rwang Tengwong gave those names and counts.
On Sept. 26 the gunmen came to Marit village. A resident, Luka Japson, said five Christians were shot at about 1 p.m. while working at a mining site, and two others were wounded. The five were buried on Sept. 30.
Joyce Ramnap, the Plateau State Commissioner for Information, confirmed the attacks. "We condemn these attacks," she said, and she asked residents to stay calm while efforts continue to stop the violence.
These deaths are part of a larger toll. Open Doors' 2026 World Watch List counted 4,849 Christians killed for their faith worldwide between Oct. 1, 2024 and Sept. 30, 2025. Of those, 3,490 were Nigerians, about 72 percent. Nigeria ranks seventh on that list.
Men at their work, a shepherd at his post
Look again at who these men were. A pastor, shot while going about his ministry. Young men of 23, 25 and 26, killed at a mining site, where they were earning bread for their families. Nobody in this account was holding a weapon. They were working and praying. That is all the record shows, and it is enough to break a heart.
The world scrolls past a dozen names in a village it cannot find on a map. Heaven does not. The Lord who counted the sparrows has counted every one of these men, and he knows the widow at the graveside in Kantoma by name.
The Bible never promised the believer an easy road. It promised something stronger. Our Lord said of his own:
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:10)
Hear that plainly, my friend. It does not say the pastor's death was small. It says the kingdom is his, and it is his now. A bullet can end a sermon. It cannot end a soul that is hid with Christ. The widow may not have her husband at the table tonight, but she has a Savior who was himself murdered by wicked men and rose again on the third day. Death lost its final word at an empty tomb outside Jerusalem.
What a free people owes the suffering
Those of us who worship in safety carry a duty. We must not look away. Scripture says:
"Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body." (Hebrews 13:3)
Remembering is not idle. It means knowing the names. It means asking our elected leaders in Washington to keep the killing of Christians in Nigeria before the eyes of the government there, and to treat the protection of worshippers as a matter of simple justice. The first duty of any government, in Abuja or anywhere, is to guard the lives of its people. The Plateau commissioner has condemned these attacks. Condemnation is a beginning. The farmers and miners of Barkin Ladi need security in their fields.
And there is a word for the man who would wish evil on the killers. The gospel will not let a believer hate even these. Christ prayed for those who drove the nails. Justice belongs to God and to the lawful authorities, and it must come. But the same cross that comforts the grieving is open to the one who fired the rifle. That is the scandal and the glory of the gospel.
If you have never settled where you will stand when your own last day comes, settle it now. These Nigerian believers were ready because they trusted a Savior, not themselves. That Savior is not far from you.