Night Raid in Adamawa: Church Torched, Elderly Christian Killed as Villagers Flee

The shooting started around 9:00 on the evening of Thursday, October 15, 2026, in the small Christian farming settlement of Dzangola Kilba in Guyaku District, Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. By morning, part of the local church building lay in ruins, homes and shops had been reduced to ash, and an elderly believer lay dead inside the house the attackers had set on fire around him.

Dzangola Kilba is a predominantly Christian community where families make their living from the land. When the gunmen arrived that night, there was no one to stop them. According to both EYN News and Truth Nigeria, no security forces intervened at any point — the attackers, as Truth Nigeria put it, "operated unchallenged" through the night, stretching their assault over hours while villagers fled into the darkness or hid where they could.

The victim has been identified by EYN News as Barnabas David (also rendered David Barnabas by one outlet), an elderly member of the Church of the Brethren (EYN) in the village. Attackers set his house ablaze with him still inside, and he was killed in the flames. His death has shaken a community that, until that night, had gathered in its church each week in relative peace.

A Church Burned, a Village Ransacked

The attackers set fire to EYN LCC Dzangola — the local congregation of the Church of the Brethren — and part of the church building was damaged in the blaze. It was not the only destruction. EYN News, citing an eyewitness, reports that eight houses and seven shops were burned to the ground, stripping families of their homes and their livelihoods in a single night.

Truth Nigeria confirmed that the attackers also looted the village, carrying off food, livestock, and cooking utensils. What they could not steal, they destroyed. For a farming community already living close to the edge, the loss of seed stores, tools, and animals is a blow that will be felt long after the embers cool.

Who Were the Attackers?

Here, caution is warranted. Some reports attribute the raid to Boko Haram, but the identification is not independently established. EYN News itself cautions that the claim rests on the eyewitness account. Faith Stories will therefore describe the attackers only as gunmen believed by eyewitnesses to be Boko Haram — suspected Boko Haram fighters — rather than stating the group's involvement as settled fact.

Likewise, unverified reports of higher casualties have circulated online, including a single-sourced social media claim of 30 deaths. These remain unverified, and official confirmation is awaited. What is confirmed by multiple sources is the killing of Barnabas David, the burning of the church, the destruction of homes and shops, and the absence of any security response during the attack.

A Pattern Across the Region

Dzangola Kilba is not an isolated case. The attack fits a widening pattern of violence against Christian communities in this corner of Adamawa State. On October 8, 2026, an EYN church in the region was destroyed in a separate attack. On that same day, gunmen returned to Tela-Bala village in Gombi LGA — killing one person and burning a church, according to The Red Lighthouse, which had previously warned of the threat to that very village.

The toll on the Christian population is staggering. The Rev. Mannaseh Mbafe, secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for Hong LGA, says eight entirely-Christian communities have already been completely displaced. His words are stark: "What we are passing through is a systematic and calculated genocide against indigenous Christians. … Thousands have been displaced. We have been conducting mass burials of Christians. Eight Christian communities have already been completely displaced."

Survivors describe living under a constant shadow. Tabitha Yusuf, a survivor quoted by Truth Nigeria, said: "Neither women nor children are spared. They kill the men and kidnap the women for sex slavery. Our only offense is that we are Christians."

An Elderly Man, a Faithful Life

We know little about Barnabas David beyond this: he was elderly, he was a Christian of the Church of the Brethren, and he died in his own home on the night of October 15. There is a particular cruelty in a man of his years perishing in flames while the village around him burned — and a particular dignity in the fact that he died a believer, in a community that had gathered under the roof of EYN LCC Dzangola Sunday after Sunday.

The attack stretched through the night. Families ran with whatever they could carry. Children were pulled from sleep and carried into the bush. By dawn, the smoke rising over Dzangola Kilba told the story of what had happened: a church scarred by fire, homes gone, and a congregation suddenly facing the reality that the building they prayed in could not protect them — though their faith, they would say, needs no building.

How to Pray

Let us lift up the people of Dzangola Kilba before the Lord. Pray for the family and friends of Barnabas David as they grieve — that God would surround them with comfort that only He can give. Pray for the congregation of EYN LCC Dzangola, for their pastor and elders, and for the church building that must now be rebuilt from its scorched walls.

Pray for the displaced families of the eight Christian communities in the region — for shelter, for food, for safety from further attacks. Pray for the survivors, including women and children living with fear and loss. Pray for the Rev. Mannaseh Mbafe and the leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria as they speak out and care for their flocks under threat.

And pray for Adamawa State itself — for an end to the violence, for the protection of vulnerable Christian villages, for security forces to stand between attackers and the innocent, and for the peace of Christ to cover a land that has seen far too many nights like the one of October 15.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.