Sitting beneath a sluggish ceiling fan in his dimly lit office, Rev Ezekiel Dachomo pressed record on his phone and spoke directly to United States President Donald Trump.
“They are killing us every week, every night,” the Pentecostal pastor said, his voice hoarse. “Over 200 of my people this year alone. If America does not stand now, they will finish us.”
The 94-second video, posted on X on Tuesday evening, shows the 58-year-old leader of Divine Power Ministry in Jos staring into the camera, eyes red from lack of sleep.
He claims his Facebook account was permanently banned for posting photographs of victims of recent attacks.
By Friday morning the clip had been viewed more than 1.2 million times.President Trump replied twice from his verified account.
The first response, posted Thursday, read: “We are watching closely.” Early Friday he added: “Spoke with Nigerian leadership today.
This ends now. More to follow.”Neither the White House nor the Nigerian presidency has released details of any conversation.
The plea comes amid persistent violence in Plateau and neighbouring states, where clashes between predominantly Muslim Fulani herders and mostly Christian farmers have killed thousands since 2015.
Local monitors recorded at least 227 deaths in attacks on Christian communities in Plateau State in 2025 up to the end of November.
Rev Dachomo has faced past allegations of financial mismanagement of church funds, which he denies.
The accusations resurfaced in some replies to his video, while others praised him for drawing global attention to the crisis.
No fresh attacks on Christian villages in Plateau have been reported since Thursday night, according to local police and civil society groups contacted by Reuters.
The United States has designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious freedom since 2020, a status it retained in this year’s report.