Thriving in the Midst of Persecution: The Church in Nigeria

Introduction

Nigeria is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society characterized by a visible and vibrant Christian presence.  Nigeria is also home to world-renowned preachers, hundreds of denominations, and massive church auditoriums such as the “Glory Dome” in Abuja, often described as one of the world’s largest Church auditoriums¹. Within the global Christian community, Nigeria is regarded as an important center of Pentecostalism, largely due to the prominence of Nigerian Pentecostal churches within the broader Christian body. These churches have not only opened branches in Western nations but have also become influential in those foreign contexts. The evidence of this is seen in global cities such as London, Houston, and Toronto, where Nigerian churches and preachers have a visible presence². Contributing to the global visibility of the Nigerian Church is televangelism, through which General Overseers and Pastors of different denominations promote their ministry. In addition to this, the popularity of Nigerian contemporary gospel music ministers such as Panam Percy Paul, Sinach, Nathaniel Bassey, among several others, across the nation makes the Nigerian Church visible. The foregoing makes it easy to see Nigeria as a country with a favorable environment for Christians. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

The Nigerian Church continues to face sustained attacks from extremist Islamists in certain regions of the country. In the Middle Belt and the far North of the country, Christians have been killed and continue to experience structural and systemic forms of persecution. Though attacks on Christians are mostly in the North and the Middle-Belt, the attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, in Ondo State in 2022³ indicates that Christians in other parts of the nation are not entirely free from such targeted attacks. The freedom enjoyed by Christians in the Southern part of Nigeria sometimes makes the plight of those who face persecution in the far North and Middle often to be overlooked. This paradoxical reality of prosperity of the Nigerian Church in the South and the persecution faced by Christians in other parts creates a contradictory reality. Yet this paradox reflects the lived reality of the Nigerian Church. So, we have a situation in which we have a thriving and bleeding Church. This paradox has been the main reason the subject of Christian persecution in Nigeria is often debated, and sometimes this reality sends conflicting signals to the global Church.

In 2025, debates about the reality of persecution and Christian genocide in Nigeria gained renewed public attention when the US Talk Show host Bill Maher and several personalities in the United States joined in speaking up against the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. The Designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern regarding the violations of religious freedom by the US changed the conversations. Then President Donald Trump’s remarkable statement, which stated unequivocally the US commitment to defend the persecuted Church and stop the ongoing genocide of Christians in Nigeria⁴. This singular statement by President Trump in Truth Social generated global interest. There was unprecedented media attention to the issue, which strangely had long been ignored for decades. There has indeed been in existence, calculated and sustained killing of Christians with genocidal intentions in Nigeria. Sadly, the Nigerian government practices what I have identified in 2021 as the undeclared policy of denialism, and this showed in the official response of the Nigerian government to the US. This came as no surprise to many of us. Gimba Kakanda, the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Research and Analytics in the Office of the Vice President, described the outrage by Bill Maher and other United States officials as an attack that “mischaracterize [s] Nigeria’s domestic conflicts, ignore its complexities and manipulate longstanding ethnic and resource-based tensions to advance sectarian agendas.”⁵. During a press briefing, the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, stated that “ . . . any narrative suggesting that the Nigerian State is failing to take action against religious attacks is based on misinformation or faulty data“.⁶ 

In light of Nigeria’s government denial that any acts of religious freedom violations are non-existent on the one hand and the continuous growth of mega churches on the other, many international individuals and organizations are skeptical about the reality of Christian persecution and genocide in Nigeria. The understandable complexity of this nuanced Nigerian situation is rooted both in pre-colonial and the colonial faultlines of Nigeria’s history. It is with this understanding that this paper is written to provide clarity on the issue. This paper also aims to challenge the misleading narrative that violence in Nigeria is solely the result of ethnic and resource-based tensions, criminality and climate change factors. The fact to note in this paper suggests that the visible prosperity of the Nigerian Church as a unified body does not nullify the persecution experienced by some of its constituent members. To understand this paradox, this paper looks beyond the reductive “general insecurity” narrative and examines the historical, ideological, and systemic conditions that render Nigerian Christians in certain regions vulnerable to persecution. By making a distinction between general violence and persecution, this paper provides the contextual reality of persecution and Christian genocide in Nigeria.

1. Persecution vs. General Insecurity

A major hurdle in the discussion concerning the persecution of Christians in Nigeria is the conflation of all violence under the neutral umbrella of „general insecurity.“ This assumption is arrived at by some, despite the patterns of certain violent attacks and even the declarations of the terrorist leaders themselves. The position of the Federal government of Nigeria remains that Christians face no persecution and there is no Christian genocide in Nigeria. Whatever Christians face is not unusual compared toother groups in Nigeria. What we must all admit is that the security situation in Nigeria is complex and multifaceted. The Presidency seems to agree that there are “criminals who seek to divide Nigerians along religious or ethnic lines”.⁷ In making a case for the persecuted, it is imperative to make a distinction between persecution and general insecurity.

1.1. What is Persecution?

According to the International Criminal Court (ICC), persecution is defined as the „intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international law by reason of the identity of the group or collectivity”.⁸ Charles Tieszen defines persecution as any unjust action of varying levels of hostility perpetrated primarily based on religion, resulting in harm as considered from the victim’s perspective.⁹ In the United States, to establish persecution and be granted asylum under the Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate (RAIO) standards, an applicant must show: (1) harm that is sufficiently serious; (2) a motive based on identity (example, religion); and (3) a persecutor that is either an agent of the government or an entity the government is „unable or unwilling to control“.¹⁰

In Nigeria, the evidence for all three criteria is overwhelming. While it is true that all Nigerians suffer from banditry and kidnapping for ransom, the drivers and targets in specific regions reveal a clear religious dimension. When a village is razed, churches and Pastorium are burnt down – most times with Pastors and their families burnt alive, food barns destroyed while the attackers chant religious slogans such as ‘Allahu akbar,’ such ceases to be „banditry.“ It indicates that the perpetrators believe they are carrying out a religious cause.  Sometimes, some people are told to pack out of their villages as a campaign to kill ‘kafirs or arnes’ (people without a religion, even when they are Christians) will take place by Armed Fulani Herdsmen who are tacitly engaged in what I will call ‘Nomadic Jihadism – what is that to be called? Mere general insecurity? I doubt so. This, in fact, introduces an ideological component to the pattern of attacks seen in many Christian-dominated areas around Nigeria, especially in the North and particularly in the Middle Belt region. One must ask, what motivates the perpetrators?

The persecution of groups is not a new phenomenon in human existence. Why, therefore, is the persecution of Christians in Nigeria in doubt? Religious books have historically interpreted religious persecution differently, but this does not deny the fact that persecution is real, especially in Nigeria, both historically (pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial Nigeria). Some Islamic sects fundamentalist and extremists insist on a specific interpretation of the Quran and have used such interpretation to wage war to see that their version is complied with. In the case of Nigeria, different splinter groups of extremist fundamentalist Islamic groups, such as Boko Haram and ISWAP, have specifically targeted Christians with violence; the government has not been willing to accept this perspective, and it has been unable to bring these groups to justice for over two decades now.¹¹ Other non-state actors, such as Armed Fulani Herdsmen and Bandits, have joined Boko Haram to persecute Christians in Nigeria. Some say, well, it’s not only Christians who are being killed but also Muslims. So, I ask, how does the killing of Muslims nullify the persecution of Christians in Nigeria today? Besides, Christians are killed disproportionally. Later statistics will show this to be true.

1.2. General Insecurity

Although insecurity is a complex issue globally, in Nigeria, it is widespread and attributed to various factors, including the activities of groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP in the Northeast, Bandits in the Northwest, and Armed Fulani Herdsmen in the Middle Belt. Additionally, secessionist movements in the Southeast contribute to the national security challenges. Various aspects of life, including religious freedom and movement, have been negatively affected. This insecurity is influenced by factors such as social injustice, the spread of certain ideologies, political marginalization, and the effects of „horizontal inequality“.¹² These factors are said to be exploited by some individuals and groups for personal or political gain, potentially harming the common good and promoting the interests of a few. General insecurity knows no religion or ethnic group, as is the case with targeted violence.

1.3. What is Genocide?

Genocide is defined by the United Nations, according to Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as follows:

Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

1. Killing members of the group.
2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.
3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.
4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.¹³

While the Cambridge Dictionary Online defines genocide as: „The crime of intentionally destroying part or all of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, by killing people or by other methods.“

From both the UN and Cambridge Dictionary definitions, we see that what has been happening in Nigeria describes genocide. This paper and the facts provide adequate leads in this direction.

2. Overview of the Historical Background of Christian Persecution in Nigeria

According to its constitution, Nigeria is a secular nation. However, since 1999, Sharia law has been established in 12 northern states, and religion plays a significant role in Nigerian politics. Politicians try to mobilize support directly and indirectly by appealing to ethnic and religious sentiments. In the ‘culture of violence’ created by a variety of Islamist terror groups, Christians have for many years been particularly vulnerable to groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province), Ansaru, and, more recently, Lakurawa and Mahmuda. Much inspiration for their Islamic purist agendas comes from the Izala Movement, which was founded in 1978 in Jos, Plateau State. It began as a reformist group aimed at eliminating religious innovations and promoting the Sunnah, the traditional practices and lifestyle of the Prophet Muhammad. The con flict, once mainly about religion, has more recently shifted to ethno-religious warfare by Armed Fulani Herdsmen who target Christians. These armed herdsmen attack predominantly Christian villages in several northern states, killing, raping and abducting people, destroying churches and targeting buildings owned by Christians, including their homes and businesses. They cart away their harvested crops, burn down their food barns during attacks, and destroy their farmlands with the food crops yet to be harvested. In some cases, after the attacks, Christians run for their lives, and they are then rendered Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as their villages are occupied by the same attackers or those from their ethnic groups – the Fulanis. In recent years, the steady influx of Fulanis from neighboring countries has added to the threat of violence. Violence has spread to the Christian-dominated southern states as well. The ‘abduction industry’ has become a feared phenomenon, leading to ‘intergenerational bankruptcy’ where families have members kidnapped and are forced to pay huge ransoms to get them back. This is also the case for Christian parishes or congregations when priests or pastors are abducted, and the communities impoverish themselves to raise the ransom payments. The failure of the government to protect Christians and civilians has widespread effects on education, consigning millions of children to illiteracy, early marriage, and poverty. This makes recruitment for Islamist militancy easier, leading to a worsening spiral of violence. At the end of 2024, Nigeria accounted for 3.4 million IDPs due to violence, many of whom are Christians¹⁴.

The „poverty narrative“ is also another dangerous myth which has generally been used by the government, and sadly, including Christians, to downplay Christian persecution. This is the idea that young men join terror groups only because they are hungry or unemployed. While poverty, unemployment and other social injustices can and often do lead young people into crime and violence, these are not the only motivations for taking up arms. In some instances, people have committed grave crimes, including acts of terrorism for ideological reasons. While poverty might provide a pool of foot soldiers for terrorist groups, it does not provide the motive. The case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the „Underwear Bomber,“ who attempted to bomb a KLM flight from Nigeria, was the son of a Nigerian elite billionaire banker. He attempted an act of terrorism despite coming from a wealthy background. This is evidence that ideology can be a decisive factor.¹⁵

Historically, Nigeria has witnessed violent acts that stem from extremist ideological interpretations of the Islamic Holy Book, the Quran. Clerics who hold these ideologies of „puritanical Islamic revivals“ view any non-Islamic influence as an „abomination“ (haram) and raise followers to resist such haram. The Maitatsine riots in the early 1980s stemmed from such ideological views.  Muhammadu Marwa, the movement’s leader, cursed all modern innovations brought by modernity, including radios, watches, and Western education, as satanic and ungodly¹⁶. This fundamentalist fever was the seed that grew into Boko Haram and ISWAP.

These groups are not „criminal gangs“ or armed robbers driven by the need to enrich themselves. They are fundamentalist organizations seeking an Islamic Caliphate governed by a strict interpretation of Sharia law. Their ideology inherently demonizes non-Muslims, and because Christianity is equally as entrenched in Nigeria as Islam, Christians easily become the first target of their attacks unless they convert. They see this as “God’s work.” There are videos of Ibrahim Shekau, the former leader of Boko Haram, making these declarations on YouTube. The widely publicized case of Leah Sharibu, the only girl from the Dapchi kidnapping still held captive since February 19^th, 2018, remains in Boko Haram captivity to date, solely for her refusal to renounce her Christian faith¹⁷, is the definitive proof of this ideological targeting. Leah is not a victim of „poverty“ or „communal clashes”; Leah is a prisoner of a religious violence. The Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, a non-governmental organization I work for, advocates for peace and justice and has debriefed women and girls who escaped from Boko Haram’s captivity. Many such women and girls have lived in captivity with Leah. Their testimonies tell a consistent story: upon refusal to convert, they are treated as slaves, bartered like property from one fighter to another, and subjected to systematic abuse because their faith renders them „infidels“ whose bodies are considered „lawful“ for sexual abuse and violations. This contemporary reality has its foundations in a precedent that pre-dates Nigeria as an entity. It is important to go down memory lane to fully grasp the context upon which Christians in today’s Nigeria are persecuted.

2.1. Colonial Legacies and the „Master Narrative“

A look at the historical background of Islamic and non-Islamic religions in Northern Nigeria is vital to understand Christian persecution in Nigeria. The 1804 Jihad of Usman Dan Fodio, which established the Sokoto Caliphate, created a psychological sense of ownership over the region. As Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah points out, some extremists view Islam as the „indigenous“ religion of the North and Christianity as a „Western/Colonial import,“ despite the Middle Eastern roots of both faiths.¹⁸ This sense of religious „birthright“ was institutionalized by British colonialists through the system of „Indirect Rule.“ Lord Lugard’s administration preserved the existing Islamic system to govern the North, placing Muslim Emirs in positions of authority over non-Muslim ethnic minorities – many of whom later embraced Christianity. As scholars Kukah and Falola have noted, the colonial „ladder of priorities“ placed the Emir at the top, followed by Muslim communities, while the bottom of the ladder was occupied by the „pagan“ (non-Muslim) minorities – from where emerged the Christians of Nigeria today.

This historical hierarchy persists today in the „Middle Belt States“: Plateau, Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, and Southern Kaduna; and parts of Kebbi, Taraba, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States. There are large Christian-dominated populations in all the states just listed. What the media superficially calls „farmer-herder clashes“ are often one-sided, large-scale massacres of defenseless Christian farming communities by well-armed militants, often identified as predominantly Muslim Fulani herders. These attacks are distinct from „typical“ communal clashes because the victims are often unarmed and asleep when the massacres occur. The result is almost always a wholesale razing of Christian villages, followed by the subsequent occupation of their lands by the attackers. This pattern suggests a deliberate strategy of demographic restructuring and territorial control, where Christian populations are forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands.

2.2 Institutionalized Persecution: The Sharia States

Persecution in Nigeria is not always violent; sometimes, and depending on where, it is often systemic, structural and institutionalized. In the 12 Northern states that have adopted various forms of Sharia criminal law since 1999, Christians face a reality of „second-class citizenship“.¹⁹ This legal dualism often supersedes constitutional protections, creating a governance structure where religious identity dictates one’s access to justice and civil rights. 

2.2.1. Weaponization of Religion 

One of the tools used to weaponized religion in Nigeria are the blasphemy laws. These laws which carry death penalties, are disproportionately levied against Christians. The state claims Sharia only applies to Muslims, yet the „mob justice“ triggered by blasphemy allegations frequently targets Christians.²⁰ The brutal lynching of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto on May 12th, 2022, remains a chilling example. Deborah was killed by her own classmates because, as they alleged, she sent a WhatsApp message deemed blasphemous. The Sokoto state government’s unwillingness to prosecute her killers effectively sends a message of state-sanctioned impunity. In most cases, formal trials are avoided, and mere accusation of blasphemy serves as a catalyst for extrajudicial violence, often leaving victims like Rhoda Jatau imprisoned²¹ for their own „protection“ while perpetrators remain free. In April 2025, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice delivered a landmark ruling declaring certain Sharia-based blasphemy provisions in Kano State incompatible with international human rights standards²², yet the Nigerian government and some people both in and out of Nigeria deny that there is Christian persecution in Nigeria.

2.2.2. Infrastructure of Exclusion

Christians encounter insurmountable obstacles in obtaining permits to build or renovate churches. While mosques are built with ease, Christian communities are often denied land for churches or even for cemeteries (US Department of State 2023). This creates a psychological environment where Christians are made to feel like „strangers“ in their own country. Public officials in states like Kaduna (some parts), Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara frequently utilize administrative bottlenecks to stall Christian infrastructure, forcing many congregations to meet in homes or secret locations, which further renders them vulnerable to harassment by state-sponsored Hisbah boards (Vanguard 2025). In 2025, reports indicated that some Northern states unconstitutionally imposed religious closures of schools and offices during Ramadan, further marginalizing non-Muslim residents (Brethren 2025), despite protestations from Christians.

2.2.3. Forced Conversions and Marginalization

There are numerous documented cases of underage Christian girls being abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off without parental consent (Truth Nigeria 2026). Most of these girls are underage. When these cases are reported, state authorities often prove „unwilling“ to intervene, citing Sharia-based „consent“ of the child to justify the crime. This „grooming“ and abduction pipeline is often supported by local religious institutions that provide „protection“ to abductors, effectively erasing the girl’s Christian identity through renaming and forced conversion. High-profile cases in 2024 and 2025, such as those of Cecilia Mathias in Yobe State and Ummi Tambaya in Kano, highlight a pattern where Sharia courts issue predetermined judgments that prevent girls from returning to their families, thereby institutionalizing the abduction.²³

3. The Reality of Christian Persecution in Nigeria

The claim that Christians are not disproportionately targeted is refuted by direct, primary-source data. The Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, in collaboration with the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), has documented a stark disparity. Between 2020 and 2023, out of approximately 30,880 civilians killed in various forms of violence, 16,769 were Christians, and 6,235 were Muslims (ORFA 2024). This means that for every Muslim killed by insecurity, nearly three Christians are killed. When these figures are weighted against the population distribution of the affected regions, the „per capita“ risk for a Christian is exponentially higher than for their Muslim neighbors.²⁴ These numbers, meticulously gathered from grassroots contacts and verified against ACLED data, confirm that while all Nigerians are suffering, Christians are bearing the brunt of targeted identity-based killing.²⁵ Why then is there such a profound „denialism“ from the Nigerian state and even within some sectors of the international community? Part of the answer lies in the „Dilution of Tragedy.“ In a nation of over 200 million people, a massacre of 100 people in a rural village can be made to look like a „minor“ statistic, and often, the figures are under-reported. Furthermore, the sheer noise of „general insecurity”, armed robbery, ritual killings, and cult clashes, provides a „smoke screen“ that allows the state to hide targeted persecution within the broader chaos of a failing social contract.

4. Key findings

Christians suffer from a severe combination of ethno-religious hostility, Islamic oppression, dictatorial paranoia and organized corruption and certain criminality. These are experienced mostly in northern Sharia-governed states. Christians are sometimes deprived of essential freedoms and even social amenities and admission to colleges to study certain professional courses in the University.  All over the north, Christians suffer from Islamist militant violence by different groups. Most of the violence against Christians is carried out by Muslim Fulani militants and “bandits”, some of Fulani descent and others by Tuareg of Arab descent. Sometimes statistics show that those killed by Armed Fulani herdsmen and bandits are more in comparison to the killings done by Boko Haram and ISWAP combined. Another contributor to insecurity for Christians in the south-east is IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra). IPOB has also oppressed and persecuted Christians, particularly Christian leaders, who do not conform to its ideological requirements. This isn’t as pronounced anymore. Many southern states have witnessed a revival of African traditional religion, sometimes encouraged by state governments. This may lead to oppression from the clan. Christians are forced to obey traditional religious concepts they consider contrary to their Christian beliefs.

4.1. Who exactly is affected by the persecution in Nigeria?

• Communities of Expatriate Christians.
• Historical Christian Communities – in Nigeria, these include the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant denominations such as Anglicans, Methodists and Lutherans. These churches face brutal, violent attacks sustained by the different religious and ethno-religious terror groups. Christians, especially the Maguzawas, also face discrimination from the local authorities, especially in the northern states. 
• Converts to Christianity- These are mostly converts from Islam. Most of these are Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) who convert to Christianity, mostly from northern Nigeria. Often, they are forced to flee their homes and states to escape being harassed or even killed. They go through a lot, including psychological abuse, poison, and beatings. 
• Non-Traditional Christian Communities – Their experience is comparable to the historical Christian communities. Especially in the northern states, Evangelical and Pentecostal communities face discrimination from the local authorities, as well as violent attacks against their lives and properties by the different religious terror groups.

4.2. How does the situation vary by region?

Violence in the north-east is mainly perpetrated by Boko Haram and ISWAP. Religious ideological identity attacks mean that moderate Muslims who do not adhere to their extremist ideological doctrines are also killed. The north-west is witnessing a pattern of killings that’s ethnoreligious, where Christians are killed, but also Hausas, both Christian and Muslim, by armed bandits many of whom are Armed Fulanis, Tuaregs, Arabs from Libya, etc. In the Northwest, the killings are ethno-religious and economic (goldmining). Hausas in Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina and Sokoto, regardless of their faith; and Christians are specifically targeted regardless of their ethnicity. While not all bandit violence in the north-west was jihadist-related, credible evidence demonstrated that some bandit groups have aligned with jihadist networks and fund jihadist aims through kidnapping for ransom. The north-central region, which is responsible for a significant portion of Nigeria’s food production, faced an unprecedented convergence of threats from existing and newly emerging Islamist terror groups who predominantly attack Christian communities including:

• The emergence of Lakurawa in Sokoto and Kebbi states
• Mahmuda group establishing a presence in Kwara and parts of Niger states
• Ansaru terror cells are setting up operations in Kogi state
• Resurgence of Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) attacks in Plateau and Benue states

4.3. Main sources of persecution and discrimination

• Ethno-religious hostility, Islamic oppression, and organized corruption and crime- Nigeria manifests a culture of impunity. Fundamental rights of Christians are not upheld, and violations against the human rights of Christians and non-Fulani Muslims are also not addressed. Twelve northern states are governed by Sharia law. Violent attacks by different religious and ethno-religious groups are rampant. Islamic religious leaders have encouraged the violations of Christians’ rights through intolerant ideology and incitement to violence through their sermons.
• Clan Oppression- In some southern states, clan oppression contributes to the persecution of Christians. Christians are subjected to serious punishment for refusing to participate in traditional rites because of their faith. This punishment may involve the payment of certain levies, beating, or public disgrace (such as stripping the person naked). This has been long and not a new persecution pattern – it is another form of persecution against Christians.

4.4. How are men and women differently affected?

Women: The Weaponization of Sex – Christian women and girls in Nigeria face extreme risks from Armed Fulani Herdsmen, Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters, and Bandits. Christian women and girls are raped, forced into sexual slavery or marriage, abducted for ransom, or killed. Blasphemy accusations add further dangers. Widespread child marriages compound the vulnerability of girls. Women often witness their husbands and sons being beaten or killed, and in some extreme cases, being raped. In IDP camps, Christian women and girls face sexual violence or forced marriages. 

Men: The Dehumanization of Human Dignity – Christian men and boys in Nigeria face targeted killings by Armed Fulani Herdsmen, Bandits and Boko Haram, which I sometimes prefer to call the triumvirate of evil.  Survivors risk forced conscription or ransom kidnappings. Men face systemic discrimination in education, employment, and business. In captivity, men are deeply traumatized by being forced to witness violence against their wives and daughters. Some attempt to return to their villages to cultivate their fields and help their families survive, but returnees risk ambush and death. The male typical pressure points are including abductions, getting killed, imprisonment and conscription into the Boko Haram armed services against their conscience.

5. Conclusion

Truth is often uncomfortable. Yet it is a powerful force that prevails regardless of belief, disbelief or ignorance. The reality of Christian persecution is no less real because the government refuses to acknowledge it or because extremist Islamists also kill and abduct Muslims. These facts do exist. One does not deny the other. Christians suffer persecution and are killed in Nigeria. And yes, Muslims also suffer and are killed in Nigeria. But this fact needs to be established – Muslims are not killed by Christians but by their fellow Muslims, who also kill Christians. The question to ask, therefore, is, how do we act both within Nigeria and globally to bring an end to these senseless Islamic-inspired killings? These killings seriously violate the dignity of human beings in Nigeria. 

The persecution of Christians in Nigeria is an undeniable fact and remains a critical issue. It is multifaceted and nuanced. It is rooted in a historical hierarchy, fueled by an extremist Islamic fundamentalist ideology and sustained by a pervasive culture of impunity. All point to the failure of the Nigerian government to act justly as the bible demands in Micah 6:8 and Deuteronomy 10:12: “… to act with justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him.”

A thriving Church is not a sign of safety; rather, it is a sign of a faith that refuses to die. The global media, governments and some Nigerians in the Diaspora, need to move beyond denials to acknowledgement and commit to work together to end the killings in Nigeria and any country for that matter. The data shows a disproportionate slaughter of Christians; the most „seasoned“ and honest response is to believe the evidence. To ignore the ashes of the rural church because the mega-churches in the city are still standing – is a failure of both analysis and justice. Only by acknowledging the specific nature of this persecution can we begin to address the root causes of a crisis that threatens the very fabric of the African giant and indeed the advancing missional movement of the global Church.

Haile Selassie, a former Emperor of Ethiopia, once said: „Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted… that has made it possible for evil to triumph.“

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• Tieszen, Charles L. „Towards Redefining Persecution.“ International Journal for Religious Freedom 1, no. 1 (2008): 65–80. https://www.ijrf.org/index.php/home/article/view/155.
• Truth Nigeria. 2026. “Nigeria’s Scandal of Underaged Christian Girls Abducted and Forced into Marriages.” Truth Nigeria. January 26, 2026. https://truthnigeria.com/2026/01/nigerias-scandal-of-underaged-christian-girls-abducted-and-forced-into-marriages/.
• UN General Assembly. „Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.“ July 17, 1998. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/rome-statute-international-criminal-court.
• USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom). “Annual Report: Recommendations for Countries of Particular Concern.” 2025. www.state.gov.
• USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). “RAIO Training Module: Definition of Persecution and Eligibility Standards.” 2023. www.uscis.gov.
• Walker, Peter. „The Gilded Life of the ‚Underwear Bomber‘ Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.“ The Guardian, December 27, 2009. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/dec/27/gilded-life-of-plane-bomber.
• X (formerly Twitter). @NGRPresident, October 2025. https://x.com/NGRPresident/status/1972369605126476204.
• Zayd Ibn Isah, „There’s More to America’s Sudden Interest in Nigeria,“ Daily Trust, November 3, 2025, https://dailytrust.com/theres-more-to-americas-sudden-interest-in-nigeria/?noamp=available
• Zorzi, Kelsey. „How Blasphemy Laws Are Fueling Persecution in Nigeria and Across the Globe.“ Alliance Defending Freedom, December 15, 2025. https://adflegal.org/article/how-blasphemy-laws-are-fueling-persecution-in-nigeria-and-across-the-globe/.

Endnotes

1. Festus Owete, “Enenche, the Glory Dome and Critics: One Year After, By Festus Owete,” Home – Premium Times opinion, November 23, 2019, https://opinion.premiumtimesng.com/2019/11/23/enenche-glory-dome-and-the-critics-one-year-after-by-festus-owete/.
2. J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, “The Reverse Mission: African Christianity in the West,” Asbury Seminary Global Christian Revivals Journal 1, no. 1 (2008), cited in Jacob Kehinde Oladipupo, „Religion Crossing the Frontiers: Nigerian Pentecostal Dynamics in the Western World,“ Great Commission Research Journal 10, no. 1 (Fall 2018): Page 5, https://place.asburyseminary.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1086&context=gcrj
3. “Massacre in Owo, Nigeria,” BBC News, June 17, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61830085. 
4. Zayd Ibn Isah, „There’s More to America’s Sudden Interest in Nigeria,“ Daily Trust, November 3, 2025, https://dailytrust.com/theres-more-to-americas-sudden-interest-in-nigeria/?noamp=available
5. Kakanda, Gimba. „No, Bill Maher, There Is No ‚Christian Genocide‘ in Nigeria.“ Al Jazeera, October 2, 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/10/2/no-bill-maher-there-is-no-christian-genocide-in-nigeria
6. Camillus Eboh and Elisha Bala-Gbogbo, „Nigeria Rejects US Religious Freedom Designation, Says It Is Based on Faulty Data,“ Reuters, November 6, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-rejects-us-religious-freedom-designation-says-it-is-based-faulty-data-2025-11-05/
7. Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident), X post, November 10, 2025, https://x.com/NGRPresident/status/1972369605126476204 
8. UN General Assembly, „Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,“ July 17, 1998, art. 7, para. 2(g), https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/rome-statute-international-criminal-court.
9. Charles L. Tieszen, „Towards Redefining Persecution,“ International Journal for Religious Freedom 1, no. 1 (2008): 69, https://www.ijrf.org/index.php/home/article/view/155. 
10. USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). 2023. „RAIO Training Module: Definition of Persecution and Eligibility Standards.“ www.uscis.gov. 
11. SBM Intelligence. 2025. „A Threat to National Stability: The Convergence of Banditry and Jihad.“ www.sbmintel.com.
12. LSE (London School of Economics). 2021. „Nigeria’s Prosperity Gospel: Reproduced Disparities and the Logic of Inequality.“ LSE Research Online. eprints.lse.ac.uk.
13. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” Article II, ICRC, https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/genocide-conv-1948/article-2
14. Open Doors International. “Nigeria Country Dossier: World Watch List 2026.” December 2025. https://www.opendoors.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/7-nigeria-country-dossier-odi-2026.pdf, 
15. 15.  Peter Walker, „The Gilded Life of the ‚Underwear Bomber‘ Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab,“ The Guardian, December 27, 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/dec/27/gilded-life-of-plane-bomber 
16. Aliyu Dahiru, „Maitatsine: The Preacher of Fire (1927-1980),“ HumAngle, June 2, 2020, https://humanglemedia.com/maitatsine-the-preacher-of-fire-1927-1980/ 
17. Simon Thomas, „Please Pray: Leah Sharibu Still in Captivity after Eight Years,“ Open Doors UK, February 18, 2026, https://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/latest-news/leah-sharibu-kidnapping-update/. 
18. Kukah, Matthew Hassan (2012). Persecutions of Christians in Africa: Contexts, Contents & Opportunities. Notre Dame Conference on Contemporary Christian Martyrs.
19. Open Doors, „Nigeria,“ World Watch List, accessed March 3, 2026, https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/nigeria/
20. Kelsey Zorzi, „How Blasphemy Laws Are Fueling Persecution in Nigeria and Across the Globe,“ Alliance Defending Freedom, December 15, 2025, https://adflegal.org/article/how-blasphemy-laws-are-fueling-persecution-in-nigeria-and-across-the-globe/.
21. Amnesty International, Instantly Killed! How Law Enforcement Failures Exacerbate Nigeria’s Wave of Mob Violence, October 2024, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AFR4484252024ENGLISH.pdf
22. International Christian Concern, “Court Declares Nigeria’s Blasphemy Laws Violate International Human Rights Standards,” International Christian Concern, April 14, 2025, https://persecution.org/2025/04/14/court-declares-nigerias-blasphemy-laws-violate-international-human-rights-standards/. 
23. News Desk, “Nigeria’s Scandal of Underaged Christian Girls Abducted and Forced into Marriages,” Truth Nigeria, January 26, 2026, https://truthnigeria.com/2026/01/nigerias-scandal-of-underaged-christian-girls-abducted-and-forced-into-marriages/
24. Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, Countering the Myth of Religious Indifference in Nigerian Terror (10/2019 – 9/2023), August 29, 2024, 12, ORFA – Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa25.  ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project). 2025. „Nigeria: Conflict Evolution and Identity-Based Violence Trends.“ ACLED Regional Analysis.https://acleddata.com/country/nigeria