A Nigerian pastor has shared new video footage which shows a mass burial site he said contains more than 501 victims in Plateau State, sparking renewed debate about religious violence in the country.
Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) posted the video on social media, where he was seen pointing at a wall with names carved on it, which he claims belong to Christians killed in series attacks.
“They keep asking for evidence, here is the evidence,” he said.
The cleric also insisted that claims suggesting Muslims and Christians were both being targeted were false. “We don’t do that,” he said. “We love our Muslims and we are ready to help.”
He further criticised public figures, including Reno Omokri, former presidential adviser Femi Adesina, and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, saying: “You said there is no genocide, did you bring them here?”
The controversy escalated internationally last week when former U.S. President Donald Trump publicly warned that he had instructed the Pentagon to consider possible U.S. military action, claiming Christians in Nigeria were facing an “existential threat.” He also suggested that Nigeria could lose American support if the government failed to stop the violence.
In response, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rejected claims that genocide was taking place, insisting that Nigeria remains a religiously diverse nation where all faiths are protected under the constitution. His government dismissed the statements as exaggerated and politically motivated.
Plateau State has experienced repeated outbreaks of violence for years, often involving clashes between armed groups and rural farming communities. Residents say villages have been attacked and many people displaced in recent months. However, casualty figures circulating online are difficult to verify due to limited access to the affected areas.
Nigerian authorities have not yet responded directly to Reverend Dachomo’s new video or his allegation of more than 600 victims.