Plateau State, Nigeria — September 2026

A Plateau State man identified only as Markus is recovering after surviving a brutal attack on his own farm, while his brother — who rushed to be by his side at the hospital afterward — has been missing for two weeks after gunmen opened fire on him and he disappeared, according to an account shared by Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, a prominent Plateau-based pastor and human rights advocate.

According to Dachomo, Markus was attacked and left for dead on his farm but survived the assault. As he fought for his life in hospital, his brother travelled to be with him — and was ambushed along the way by the same men who had attacked Markus, who opened fire on him multiple times before he vanished. His family has since received no phone call, no ransom demand, and no explanation of any kind.

“They don’t know whether he is alive or dead,” Dachomo said, describing a family “living in unbearable uncertainty” for two weeks. He called on the public to remember Markus, his missing brother, and their family in prayer, asking for the truth to be revealed, the missing man’s safety, comfort for the grieving family, and an end to the violence.

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Dachomo, regional chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, has become one of the most prominent voices documenting communal violence in Plateau State, having conducted dozens of mass burials for victims of attacks across the Middle Belt. His own credibility on these matters carries particular weight: in July 2026, nine members of his own extended family, including a two-month-old infant, were killed in an attack on their family compound in Riyom district — an assault the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs publicly condemned as “horrific,” with Washington calling on Nigerian authorities to hold perpetrators accountable. Dachomo has continued his advocacy despite reported threats against his own life.

The Markus case adds to a long list of attacks and abductions Dachomo and other Plateau-based clergy and advocates have brought to public attention in recent months, including a night raid on the Binper community that killed at least 23 people, and a wave of attacks in Mangu LGA earlier this month.

As of this writing, no security agency had issued a public statement confirming details of the Markus case or the search for his missing brother, and the specific location, date, and identities involved have not been independently verified beyond Dachomo’s account.