JOS, Nigeria — Christian community leaders in Plateau state are appealing directly to the United States government for intervention after armed Fulani militants killed a church worker and community leader, John Telle Danjuma, and gunmen separately killed three people at a mining site in a nearby district, according to statements from local youth associations and church leaders.
Danjuma, in his early 30s, was ambushed and killed on June 24 near Gyu, also called Twins Hill, in the Miango area, about a quarter of a mile from the Nigerian Army’s shooting range and 20 miles west of Jos in Bassa Local Government Area. Local youth leaders alleged he was attacked by armed Fulani militants while returning from Jos, the Plateau state capital. The Miango Youth Development Association said Danjuma had been sworn in as its director of socials only two months before his death. He is survived by his wife and young son.
At a candlelight vigil held June 30, MYDA spokesperson Agara Weyi called on Nigerian authorities and international partners to act. “We cannot continue to bury our brothers,” Weyi said. “We cannot continue to weep. Our dreams cannot be cut short. We have plans and a future. It is God who has given us that future, and no one has the right to take it away.”
Weyi appealed directly to the U.S. government to engage Nigerian authorities over the security situation in the Middle Belt, the region between Nigeria’s largely Muslim far north and its largely Christian south. “This is not artificial intelligence. This is not manipulation. These events are happening live in Miango and across Plateau state,” he said. “People are being killed, and the world needs to know.” He alleged that armed Fulani extremists were responsible for attacks aimed at displacing residents from ancestral lands. Those allegations reflect the views of local community leaders and have not been independently verified.
Residents said at least 17 people had been killed in separate incidents over a period of just over one week, including eight victims in Miango communities of Bassa Local Government Area. Roadside ambushes had targeted farmers and commuters, making it difficult for some residents to travel to farms or move safely between communities.
In a separate attack, at least three people were killed and two others injured when gunmen struck a mining site in the Nyango community of Gyel District, Jos South Local Government Area, at about 11:50 a.m. on a Tuesday. Resident Chuwang Rogo said miners were caught by surprise, with some already inside mining pits when the shooting began. Rwang Tengwong, national publicity secretary of the Berom Youth Moulders-Association, confirmed the attack and said Gyel and nearby communities had repeatedly raised concerns about armed activity around the Gyero and Rafin Buna axis.
Sunday Gado, a leader of the Miango Youth Development Association, criticized the response of security forces, alleging that negligence by personnel contributed to attacks in the area. The Nigerian Army had not responded to those claims. At Danjuma’s funeral service at ECWA Gospel Church Miango, Rev. Emmanuel Benedict Zamfara, manager of Miango Rest Home, joined mourners in paying tribute. Church leaders described Danjuma as a trusted worker whose character set him apart.
“We are tired of burying our people,” Weyi said at the vigil. “We want peace. We want justice. We want the killings to stop.” The Berom Youth Moulders-Association called on security agencies to increase operations in the area and dismantle criminal hideouts. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” in recent years, and Plateau state remains on the watch list of international monitoring groups including International Christian Concern.