A Nigerian Pastor Buried Four More Christians Saturday. The World's Biggest Newsrooms Missed It.

Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo is a Christian pastor in central Nigeria, a regional leader of the Church of Christ in Nations in Plateau State. On Saturday, he sat down inside a freshly dug grave to bury four villagers killed by gunmen the night before while keeping watch over their community (Dachomo on X; Premium Times).

They were four of seven Christians killed Friday in three villages south of Jos, the state capital, according to Jos-based reporter Masara Kim. A woman was killed in Ntul village. Two young men were shot at a mining site in Burdinga. Just before midnight, residents said, gunmen hit Shurum village and killed the four volunteers on night watch (The Sun; Vanguard).

There were no coffins. In Kim's video, the bodies lie wrapped in bright patterned blankets on the red dirt. Dachomo sits beside them, wiping his eyes with a tissue, while mourners above sing a hymn.

One post of the clip has passed 2.3 million views on X (Julio Vientós). Visegrad24's repost has drawn more than 877,000 views. It added one line: "International mainstream media wasn't there for the funeral. Again…"

Who they were

Dachomo posted the names of the four from Shurum: Formun Danladi, 40; Emmanuel Jonah, 20; Godfrey Useini, 22; and Mundi Formun, 15. "They were watching over our community when the gunmen struck and killed them," villager Bulus Bature told Vanguard.

The two miners were Goodluck Bulus and Emmanuel Monday, both in their mid-20s (Vanguard). Goodluck's father was killed by Fulani herdsmen more than a decade ago, according to the Berom Youth Moulders Association, a local community group that blamed "Radical Islamic Fulani Militias" for the mining-site killings (Sahara Reporters).

Kim reported that the day's attacks were "credited to Fulani militants." Soldiers arrived in Shurum after the gunmen had fled and launched a manhunt, per TheCable. All of it happened under a dusk-to-dawn curfew the state ordered in September after a week in which 27 people were killed, including a pastor shot on his way to church (International Christian Concern).

In a post the next morning, Dachomo wrote: "Sometimes, I feel as though I may be the next person to follow my brothers who have been taken away from us and buried in their graves. If God does not rise to fight for us, what are we going to do?" He added: "We have prayed, cried, and called for help, but it feels as though the government has turned its back on us" (Dachomo on X).

The pastor Trump amplified

Dachomo first drew attention around the world in October 2025, standing at a mass grave and pleading: "Please tell Trump to save our lives in Nigeria. They are killing Christians in Nigeria. They are massacring Christians." On May 16, President Trump reposted that video on Truth Social (PlateauReports). Dachomo answered: "@realDonaldTrump Thank you" (Tribune).

He says he had led more than 70 mass burials of Christians by the end of 2025. In July, gunmen killed nine of his relatives in Riyom, including a 2-month-old baby. According to Fox News, they arrived asking, "Where is the father of this house?" He later said Fulani herdsmen had sent a letter vowing to kill him next. "They may kill the messenger, but they cannot kill the message," he said (Decision). He's also been fighting a serious liver illness (Daily Post).

The numbers behind the grave

Open Doors, which tracks persecution worldwide, counted 3,490 Christians killed for their faith in Nigeria from October 2024 to September 2025. That's up from 3,100 the year before, and Open Doors calls both minimum figures (Open Doors). The group says most of the violence comes from Muslim Fulani militants, "more than by Boko Haram and ISWAP combined."

The worst attack in that stretch hit Yelwata in Benue State in June 2025, where Open Doors says 258 people, mostly women and children, were killed over four hours. This year has been no better. InterSociety, a Nigerian rights group, counts at least 3,426 Christians killed from Jan. 1 to Oct. 10, including 130 in Plateau State in just the last 40 days of that span (InterSociety).

Nigeria's government rejects the idea that Christians are being singled out and says the violence hits all faiths. It has also hired a Washington lobbying firm to push back on the "Christian genocide" claims, reportedly for $750,000 a month (Nairametrics).

What Washington has done

Trump has pressed this issue hard. On Oct. 31, 2025, he designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern for religious freedom violations, and he warned that the U.S. could go in "guns-a-blazing" if the killing of Christians didn't stop (The Guardian). On Christmas Day, U.S. forces struck ISIS camps in northwest Nigeria (CNN). In May, a joint U.S.-Nigerian operation killed the ISIS commander Abu-Bilal al-Minuki (Tribune).

In Congress, Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.), whom Trump asked to lead an investigation, delivered a report to the White House in February. It calls for sanctions, visa bans, withholding some U.S. funds and a security pact to protect Christian communities (Moore). Moore and Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) also introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act (Smith). It has sat in committee since February with no hearing yet (ChamberLight). In August, Nigeria stayed on the Country of Particular Concern list after a second round of talks in Washington (State Department).

At the U.N. last month, Trump said: "The craven hypocrites of Human Rights Council have little to say about the persecution of Christians" (Miller Center). Three days later, Dachomo stood at another grave and said: "President Trump, thank you for advocating for us in Nigeria — the most persecuted church in the world" (TruthNigeria).

Who showed up

Nigeria's own papers covered Friday's killings: Premium Times, Vanguard, The Sun, Leadership, TheCable and Sahara Reporters (Leadership). As of Tuesday morning, we found nothing on the killings or the funeral from the AP, Reuters, the BBC, CNN, The New York Times or The Washington Post.

It's not that they can't find Plateau State. The AP covered a June attack there that killed at least 20 people (AP), and Reuters covered a March attack that killed at least 30 (Reuters). The big outlets came running when Trump threatened action and when the missiles flew on Christmas. Seven dead on an ordinary Friday, and a pastor weeping in a grave, didn't make the cut.

The camera at that grave belonged to a local reporter. The four in it had volunteered to guard their village. The story was there for anyone who wanted it.