Terrorists have attacked an NKST church in Taraba State, killing dozens of worshippers and forcing more than 90,000 residents to flee their homes.
The assault came just days after local security agencies received a detailed warning of an imminent threat to Christian communities along the Wukari-Takum road, including the Chenchenji-Yelwa area.
Police publicly dismissed the alert as false and urged residents not to panic, only for violence to erupt on Monday in what appears to be a direct response to that ignored intelligence.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as heavily armed terrorists, some carrying black jihadist flags, swept into the community.
They targeted the church building itself, razing it to the ground while residents scrambled for safety.
Homes and farmland in surrounding villages also went up in flames, leaving families with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
This latest outrage fits into a grim pattern of repeated strikes on Tiv Christian settlements in southern Taraba.
For months, terrorists have systematically burned churches, seized farmland and driven thousands from their ancestral homes.
Church leaders have long warned that the violence goes far beyond simple clashes over grazing rights and amounts to a targeted campaign against Christian villages.
Despite the mounting death toll and the growing number of displaced people – now exceeding 90,000 in the region since late last year – authorities have yet to announce any arrests or concrete plans to secure the area.
Local pastors say the attack has left worshippers terrified and communities shattered once again.
As night fell on Tuesday, survivors huddled in makeshift camps, wondering how many more warnings will be ignored before the cycle finally breaks.
