A United States–based humanitarian group, Equipping The Persecuted, has raised an alarm over an alleged plan by terrorists to carry out coordinated attacks on several communities in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day, a claim the Federal Government has dismissed as speculative and panic-inducing.
The warning was issued by the organisation’s founder, Judd Saul, during a roundtable discussion held in Washington, DC, and organised by the International Committee on Nigeria in collaboration with the African Jewish Alliance.
The meeting was chaired by former United States Congressman Frank Wolf and attended by serving US lawmakers, officials of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and members of a Nigerian delegation.
At the meeting, Saul alleged that armed groups were regrouping in parts of the Middle Belt, particularly along the Plateau–Nasarawa, Nasarawa–Benue and Nasarawa–Kaduna corridors.
He claimed the groups were planning coordinated attacks on communities in Riyom and Bokkos in Plateau State, as well as Kafanchan in Kaduna State and Agatu in Benue State on Christmas Day.
Saul reportedly called for urgent intervention to avert what he described as potential mass killings. Sources familiar with the meeting said the discussion formed part of ongoing engagements by US lawmakers and advocacy groups on Nigeria’s security situation and alleged attacks on Christian communities.
One source disclosed that Saul had formally submitted the intelligence to US authorities through Congressman Riley Moore.
Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed it was aware of the reported threat and had commenced preventive security operations.
A senior DSS official said the agency had received intelligence relating to the alleged plot, while another operative noted that violent attacks have historically occurred during festive periods in parts of Plateau State, Southern Kaduna and Benue State.
Riyom and Bokkos local government areas of Plateau State have experienced repeated attacks in recent months.