Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A wave of terror swept through Plateau State between Friday night and Saturday, August 29, 2026, leaving at least five people dead and one injured in coordinated attacks that have once again exposed the fragility of security in Nigeria's Middle Belt. Among the victims was Pastor Hills Emmanuel, a Ghanaian-Nigerian cleric and founder of The Wonderful Grace of God Evangelical Ministry in Bokkos, who was abducted and later found dead. His colleague, Pastor Gabriel Joseph Dipak of the Christ Apostolic Church, remains missing after the abductors contacted his family, though their demands have not been made public.
The two pastors were traveling from Jos to Bokkos on Friday, August 28, when their vehicle was intercepted along the Barkin Ladi-Bokkos road. According to witnesses, the attackers, identified as Fulani militants, established a roadblock less than a mile from military checkpoints positioned on both sides of the route. The gunmen stopped a commercial minibus carrying nine passengers and forcibly removed the two clerics. They allegedly seized money and mobile phones from the remaining passengers before allowing them to leave. Police later recovered the stolen items at the scene.
Emmanuel's body was discovered early Saturday near the spot where the abduction occurred. The killing came amid a series of other attacks reported across Plateau State on the same night. At about 9 p.m., a woman was killed in Fang village, Bachi District of Riyom Local Government Area. Two other people were killed in Radura village, Fann District of Barkin Ladi LGA. At least one person was also injured in an attack on Chakfem village in Mangu LGA. The incidents occurred within about 10 to 20 miles of one another.
Conflict reporter Masara Kim, who first disclosed the incidents in a post on X, described the attacks as coordinated and alleged that Christian communities were deliberately targeted. The claims could not be independently verified, and authorities had yet to provide an official account of the incidents at the time of the report. The latest violence adds to persistent insecurity in Nigeria's Middle Belt, where communities have suffered repeated killings, abductions, and displacement. While the violence has often been linked to farmer-herder disputes, affected communities and advocacy groups have repeatedly alleged deliberate attacks on predominantly Christian settlements.
The abduction and killing of the two pastors have heightened concerns over the security situation in Plateau, where recurring attacks and abductions have continued to threaten communities across the state. The attackers' ability to mount a roadblock close to military checkpoints raises troubling questions about the effectiveness of security operations in the region. As of Saturday afternoon, Pastor Dipak remained in captivity, and the abductors had reportedly contacted his family, although their demands had not been established at the time of the report. The incidents have renewed calls for urgent government action to protect vulnerable communities and bring the perpetrators to justice.
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