The morning sun peeked gently through the clouds as if it too was grieving as hundreds gathered in silence around the modest whitewashed walls of the United Methodist Church in Zailani community in Karim-Lamido Local Government Council of Taraba State.

They came to bid farewell to one of their own, Alhaji B. Sambo, a quiet man with a warm smile, a firm handshake, and a heart that beat only for God, family, and community.

Alhaji was a husband. A father of three. A devout Christian. A peacemaker. Not a fighter. But on Monday, April 14, 2025, he became a victim of religious violence, killed in cold blood during a brazen attack that was alleged to have been carried out by members of the breakaway Global Methodist Church (GMC) in the Zailani community.

What began as an attempt to forcibly evict the UMC District Superintendent’s family from the church personage turned into bloodshed.

Sambo, who had rushed to offer help and calm tensions, became the target. He never came back.

Today, his body returned not walking through the church gates as he had so many Sundays before, but in a coffin draped with the United Methodist flag, accompanied by songs, sobs, and broken hearts.

“Alhaji was the kind of man who never raised his voice,” said Emmanuel Istifanus, a fellow church member and friend of 15 years.

“If he saw a fight brewing, he’d be the first to step in—not to shout, but to make peace. He died doing exactly that.”

His wife, Rahila Sambo, sat quietly beside the coffin, flanked by her three children. Her eyes were dry not for lack of sorrow, but from days of crying.

“They didn’t just take my husband,” she whispered. “They took our protector, our provider, our peace.”

Only a week earlier, Zailani was overflowing with joy as more than 20,000 United Methodist gathered for a revival that brought four entire communities back to the church after previously defecting to the GMC. It was a moment of spiritual victory, a reclaiming of faith.

“It is not just a loss,” said Rev. Gloria Iliya Dogara during the funeral sermon. “It is a sacrifice. Brother Sambo was martyred, not because of hate, but because of love. He loved this church, he loved peace, and he died for it.”

Her voice cracked as she called on believers to remain calm despite their pain.

“We do not return evil for evil. We bury our dead in peace and rise with the gospel in our hands, not swords.”

As pallbearers lowered the casket into the Kadang earth, an unspoken promise filled the air: Alhaji B. Sambo would not be forgotten .

Children who did not know him wept. Elders clutched their walking sticks like shields of memory. Youth leaders swore they had carried forward his quiet courage. And the United Methodist Church – shaken, wounded, yet unbroken stood taller.

Speaking, the Bishop of the UMC-Nigeria, Ande I Emmanuel, who also visited victims of the incident who are currently receiving medications at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, called on the security agencies to as a matter of urgency investigate and bring the perpetrators to book.

Urging the church not to “repay evil with evil” he called on the leadership of the breakaway faction to embrace to eschew acts capable of demeaning Christianity in the state, the country and the world at large.

Security personnel said relevant security apparatus had been put in place in order to track down those behind the gruesome killing of Alhaji.