Shot Walking to Church: Pastor Among Those Killed as Plateau State Imposes Curfew

It was a Sunday morning walk to church. In Dorowa Babuje, in Plateau State's Barkin Ladi local government area, a pastor and the person walking with him were shot on the way to a service. As of the first reports, neither had been publicly named.

They were among at least nine people killed in separate attacks across rural Plateau communities over the weekend of 19–20 September, according to The Christian Post.

What Happened

• Gana-Ropp, Barkin Ladi: five passengers travelling as day labourers were ambushed and killed. "We evacuated the corpses of five persons from Gana-Ropp," said Ukasha Garaba, a Pyem youth leader. "They were passengers who were traveling as laborers."
• Dorowa Babuje, Barkin Ladi: a pastor and a companion were shot while walking to a church service.
• Riyom: a woman was killed at Baten Wereng, and another person at Ratyidi in Fan District.
• Dorowa Maranba and Kantoma: cattle were killed or stolen in the early hours of Sunday.

Local reports also described homes being burned.

The Curfew

On 21 September, the Plateau State Government announced an immediate dusk-to-dawn curfew — 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. — across Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu, citing a wave of attacks that left more than 20 people dead within 48 hours. Motorcycles were banned across the three areas with immediate effect.

"The Plateau State Government has declared an immediate, dusk-to-dawn curfew across Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu Local Government Areas to maintain public order and curb emerging security threats in the region," said Joyce Ramnap, the state's Commissioner for Information and Communication.

Community leaders asked for more than restrictions. Bulus Dabit of the Mwaghavul Development Association called on the authorities to pursue and arrest the attackers. "We condemn these attacks in the strongest terms," said Rwang Tengwong of the Berom Youth Moulders, "and call on the security agencies to urgently strengthen their presence."

Why We're Reporting It Two Weeks Later

Because this is how Plateau's violence usually goes: no single event large enough to hold the world's attention, just a road, a village, a church path, again. A security task force has operated in the state since 2010, and the killings continue.

Nigeria accounted for 3,490 of the 4,849 Christians recorded killed for their faith worldwide in Open Doors' 2026 World Watch List. Attacks like this one are a large part of why. We keep a running file on Christians in Nigeria so stories like this one don't disappear after a day.

How to Respond

Grief that doesn't pray is only sorrow; prayer that doesn't remember is only habit. Our guide on how to pray for the persecuted church is built around what believers in places like Plateau actually ask for — and the first thing they ask is that the church elsewhere would not forget them.