Persecution of Christians in Nigeria

“We can’t be diminished. We can’t be silenced, because the source of our mission is divine, and you can’t kill that which is divine.”

While the Western churches navel gaze about falling congregations, fret about all things homosexual and transsexual, deal with sex abuse in their midst, and engage in internal and external 'cultural wars', Christians across the globe face daily threats to their lives. 

The persecution of Christians is at its highest point in three decades, according to the latest report from advocacy group Open Doors. The World Watch List, released by Open Doors on Jan. 18, reported that, overall, the number of Christians facing persecution worldwide remained steady in 2022 at approximately 360 million.

In a list of the 50 countries with the most persecution, North Korea returned to the first spot in 2022. The year prior, Afghanistan had landed in the top ranking following the Taliban’s takeover of the country’s government.

Afghanistan ranks ninth in the latest list because the country’s Christians have either been killed, fled, or are in strict hiding. The other countries classified as having “extreme” levels of Christian persecution this year are Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, and India.

In sub-Saharan Africa, anti-Christian violence has reached “unprecedented intensity”. Nigeria continues to be the epicenter of massacres with 5,014 Christians killed in 2022, nearly 90% of the total number of Christians killed worldwide - 5,621. The World Watch List also underlined continuing Christian persecution in China.

In Nigeria, a recent spate of killings, kidnappings, and destruction of church facilities is a continuation of a situation Christians have had to deal with for years. 

Lat week, at least 11 people, most of them Catholics, were killed when alleged Fulani herdsmen attacked a village near a refugee camp in the Diocese of Makurdi, southeast of the capital, Abuja. This was just days after a priest, Fr. Isaac Achi, was killed in his parish residence in the north central state of Niger. Fr. Achi’s assistant pastor was shot and wounded by bandits. Also, 25 churchgoers were abducted in Katsina state in the northwest. The evening before, a parish priest in the southwestern state of Ekiti was kidnapped.

Whilst the killing and kidnapping of Catholics, especially priests and other faith leaders, gets attention, persecution of Christians is far more widespread. Many victims go unreported across Christian denominations in rural areas - Evangelicals, Lutherans and Church of the Brethren..

Nigeria is 53.5% Muslim, 10.6% Roman Catholic, and 35.3% other Christian. Ordinary Muslims who have not been indoctrinated into more radical ideologies also have suffered the brunt of the violence. 

There is widespread terrorist activity, inter-communal violence, and kidnapping. Terrorist groups based in the Northeast routinely target humanitarian camps, security forces, churches, schools, mosques, government installations, educational institutions, entertainment venues, and road travellers. Approximately 2 million Nigerians have been displaced as a result of the violence in Northeast Nigeria. Violent crime – such as armed robbery, assault, carjacking, kidnapping, hostage taking, banditry, and rape – is common throughout the country. 

Aside from crime, Islamic fundamentalism, the current situation is judged to be the result of a culture of impunity that has developed under the current administration of President Buhari. This administration has failed to protect its own people and one of the primary victims is the Catholic Church and its priests.

Fr. Gideon Obasogie, former director of communications for the Diocese of Maiduguri, in the north of the country, said the violence has its roots in Islamic radicalism that has crept into Nigeria. He said:

“What we’re seeing today is the result of longtime indoctrination, Even today we get Islamic leaders who are extremists, who teach their people to be intolerant of the other religions. So a young man who finds himself in a Muslim family sees every other human being as a brother or sister. By the time he grows up in a culture where he’s being told that the man who goes to the church is an enemy; you need to kill him. When he grows up with that mentality, what do you expect?”

Fr. Joe Bature Fidelis, director of the Justice, Development, and Peace Commission in Maiduguri, explained that while some areas of Nigeria have seen a rise in radical Islamic groups such as Boko Haram, Islamic State-West Africa Province, and extremist Fulani herders, other states have adopted Sharia law, putting pressure of Christian citizens:

“For instance, if they say all places that sell alcohol should be closed, … no teaching of religious education, dress code has to be modified according to Sharia law, anyone then that does not comply with that is treated badly. They wouldn’t catch a Christian, probably, to take him to the Sharia court and judge him by that law, because there would be some uprising, but they will target such a person and then by violence beat the person up. And once the person is beaten, nothing is done. Nor are the perpetrators brought to justice. The state law turns away the eye.”

Fr. Obasogie gives this message of hope:

“As Christians, we are people of hope. What gives us hope? I bet that if you go to the church where Fr. Achi was killed on Sunday you will see more people there than last Sunday. That gives us hope, as priests ... 

“In my diocese [of Maiduguri], they have bombed more than 500 churches. The bishop has a policy that when they burn a church, we will rebuild it – only that it won’t be built with wooden rafters but with steel. For me, that is a sign of faith, and it’s what keeps us moving. And I bet you that it has become a form of testimony for even the Muslims. They see this and think, ‘They used to have a church, but they have a bigger one now. They used to have one priest. Now they have two.’ 

“We can’t be diminished. We can’t be silenced, because the source of our mission is divine, and you can’t kill that which is divine.”