Villagers across three Plateau State local government areas have reported helicopter and drone activity preceding recent attacks on Christian communities, according to on-the-ground interviews, youth leader testimony, and statements from elected officials.
Anthony Moses Dakkas, national youth leader of the Takkass Youths, a predominantly Christian community, told security officials at a public meeting that residents had seen a helicopter landing in Takkass land before the attacks, pressing officials on what he described as the government’s awareness of the aircraft. “Do you know where the helicopter is? You should know it,” he said. Moses added that the helicopter “used to land here, in Takas,” and warned that the community would take further action if the government failed to respond.
The reports fit a longer pattern of helicopter sightings preceding attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Eyewitnesses in Benue State first described a helicopter overhead during attacks on the Agatu community in 2016.
The pattern recurred in southern Kaduna, where survivors of several attacks reported seeing a helicopter shortly before assaults, believing it was conducting surveillance or delivering supplies to the attackers. Christian Solidarity Worldwide also reported that children displaced from Kajuru LGA would shake and run at the sound of a passing helicopter, associating it with an imminent attack.
The most detailed case came on June 5, 2022, when terrorists reportedly deployed a helicopter during attacks that killed more than 30 people in the villages of Dogon Noma, Ungwan Sarki, Ungwan Maikori, and Ungwan Gamu in Kajuru LGA, according to Adara Development Association President Awemi Maisamari. A ReliefWeb report said that as villagers mobilized to repel the attackers, the helicopter carried out airstrikes against them, providing cover that allowed the attackers to move and fire more freely.
Dogon Noma village head Ibrahim Usman told community leaders that locals believed the helicopter’s arrival meant relief had come, until they realized it was attacking alongside the bandits, after which the village was burned. Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security Samuel Aruwan said the helicopter was an Air Force asset dispatched under Operation Whirl Punch that scanned the area and intercepted the retreating bandits rather than supporting them. Analysts noted the incident marked the first time a helicopter was alleged to have directly fired on victim communities on the attackers’ behalf, distinct from the earlier, less specific surveillance and resupply reports from 2016 through 2019.
A separate, unresolved helicopter incident occurred July 2, 2026 in Kaboji, Mashegu LGA, Niger State, though it involved rival bandit factions rather than an attack on a Christian community. A video posted by X user @secmxx showed suspected security personnel and armed men loading injured fighters onto a helicopter, captioned as an airlift of Dogo Gide’s men from Kaboji primary school.
247 Ureports described it as the aftermath of a clash between Dogo Gide’s fighters and a rival faction, Lakurawa, saying a military helicopter evacuated the wounded gunmen rather than arresting them, with no official Army statement at the time. Gaskiya News Hausa reported a security source’s account that the flight was a joint Army–Air Force operation retrieving wounded fighters stranded after a forest clash, airlifted for investigation rather than rescued.
A DUBAWA fact-check confirmed the landing through eyewitnesses, one of whom said a Nigerian Police Force helicopter set down at an old cemetery, not the primary school named in the viral video, between 11 a.m. and noon, and that a tall, masked Fulani man believed to be Dogo Gide was seen nearby. None of these accounts has been independently verified by the Nigerian military, and the identity of those evacuated and the branch of security forces responsible remain disputed.
In addition to the helicopter reports, eyewitnesses are increasingly reporting the use of drones by Fulani attackers to conduct surveillance before an assault. On June 10, 2026, Fulani Islamists killed two Christian volunteer watchmen in Tahos, a farming community of roughly 500 to 600 residents in Riyom LGA, Plateau State. According to the village king, the watchmen were shot with precision despite hiding in concealed positions in the dark, leading him to suspect the attackers used drones or night-vision equipment for targeting.
Local leaders in the area have separately said Fulani attackers are increasingly deploying drones in addition to their standard AK-47 assault rifles, while Christian communities generally lack any comparable technology and depend on volunteer watchmen armed with single-shot muskets.
One reason Christians are concerned about the possible use of helicopters and drones in these attacks is that both require significant financial resources, while drones also require specialized technical expertise. This raises questions about how Fulani, who on average have relatively low levels of education and few resources, are able to purchase and operate them. Helicopters are even more expensive, and in Nigeria it is extremely difficult for civilians to own one.
Consequently, many Christian communities believe that the use of drones, and particularly helicopters, may suggest some degree of military complicity in these attacks.
The alleged complicity of security forces in these attacks is a common thread running through numerous eyewitness testimonies. In Riyom LGA, Islamist Fulani herdsmen attacked Jol village for a full week beginning July 15. During the attack, an army officer stationed in neighboring Sho community, Barkin Ladi, reportedly abandoned his post, changed into plain clothes, and joined the attackers. A local security official confirmed that the officer had been arrested. Reports of these incidents come from eyewitnesses and have not been verified through official channels.
Gankis Emmanuel Dalyop, 47, youth leader of Jol Ward, said the community had “not rested” since the attacks began. He described the attackers traveling roughly three to four kilometers by motorcycle from a settlement locals call Mahanga, formerly Rangkum before its Fulani occupants renamed it. According to Dalyop, they then crossed a river on foot and arrived in groups of 200 to 400 people, typically between 4 and 8 p.m.
Dalyop said the attackers track the village at night using a drone that they “fly in the air at night,” which he distinguished from drones operated by security forces. He added that vigilantes stationed nearby alert residents so they can call in security forces.
He said the conflict has lasted 25 to 26 years and that Fulani settlers now occupy roughly 98 percent of the community’s traditional land. “We are just using 2% of our land,” he said.
Asked why neighboring Fulani settlements never attack one another, Dalyop replied, “They only face us.” He added that Fulani contacts who privately share information have declined to identify the organizers of the attacks because “they are afraid of their neighbours.”
His response underscores the difficulty of independently verifying allegations of security force involvement or the reported use of helicopters. Official sources willing to corroborate these claims are difficult to find. Until stronger evidence can be established, the allegations are easily dismissed by authorities, which also means meaningful steps may not be taken to protect Christian communities from these threats.
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