Three widows who lost their husbands during the massacre at Dogo Nahawa

But the commanding officer allegedly instructed the soldiers not to intervene, and the soldier who had raised the question was beaten about the head with a rifle butt.

'They nearly killed him,' said Pastor Daniel, who claimed the troops just allowed the attacks to take place. 'The soldiers didn't do anything. We have no confidence in them.'

Another COCIN pastor, Jerry Datim, also alleges the commanding officer knew of the attacks, but kept his soldiers back. The pastor tried to phone the commanding officer, but got no reply, so sent a text. 'I said: "There is a problem going on in Dogo Nahawa, people have been attacked, killed. Please can you send the soldiers immediately to take care of the situation?"

It took an hour for the commander to respond with a cursory: 'Who are you?' Pastor Datim begged the commanding officer to send troops to defend the villages, but the commander did not reply and switched off his phone.

In the weeks following the massacre, other Christians have been the victims of what they claim is indiscriminate shooting by soldiers. And there have been alleged cases of extra-judicial killings.

Some Christian leaders are warning of an Islamic agenda to take over the Plateau.

Rev Dr Pandang Yamsat is President of COCIN. 'Since 2001 about 20 pastors from my church have been killed; about 150 churches have been destroyed.

COCIN church, Dogo Nahawa

'The church on the Plateau has been under attack by Muslims, for the simple reason that they want to occupy the Plateau.

'Up to ninety-five per cent of the people on the Plateau are Christians, and they want to cripple that number... so they will become the majority and thereby gain control. If they gain control, they will then begin to introduce Islamic law.'

The Archbishop of Jos, Benjamin Kwashi, described the situation as a continuing 'crisis'.

'Since 1994 there has been steady, calculated persecution of Christians. Many hundreds of lives have been lost. Since 2001 about 56,000 people have been killed on the Plateau.

It's not only Christians that have been killed. Some claim the latest attacks were reprisals for an assault against Muslims in January, but the facts of that incident are less clear than has been reported. Release has heard evidence that facts have been distorted to falsely portray Christians as equal co-aggressors. This has been done in order to justify attacks against the Christian community.

The actual picture is more complex. The clashes in Nigeria are along tribal as well as religious lines; some may have been acting in self-defence, and criminal elements are also involved.

'Criminality has become a good business,' added Archbishop Kwashi, 'Looting, destroying, killing. People have not been arrested; they've not been jailed, so criminality has become a business, and the government is unable to arrest and punish people for their crimes.

'I'm praying that through these difficult times God will restrain Christians from acting foolishly, from thinking of revenge, from taking retaliation and from doing things that will not glorify God.

'Christians on the Plateau must not lose focus on the vision and mission of the church: to bring good to all people, to bring health to all people, and to demonstrate the love of God and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ to all humanity.'

Release joins with Archbishop Kwashi in urging Christians worldwide to pray for the people of Plateau State. 'Pray for increased and effective security - for all of Plateau's citizens, be they Christian or Muslim,' said Release CEO Andy Dipper. 'And please pray for Release's partners in Nigeria as they work tirelessly to provide aid and support for persecuted Christians.'