Thousands of Christians ‘deliberately targeted’ and killed in Nigeria

The killings, persecution and displacement of Christians in Nigeria are “relentless” and constitute “a ticking time bomb”, according to a major new report.

Christians “are being deliberately targeted,” along with “Christian communities, their livelihoods, their faith leaders and their places of worship,” according to the report by Open Doors International, a faith-based nonprofit that works to raise awareness of global persecution, with a view to mobilizing prayer, support and action among Christians.

Christians are becoming “an endangered species” there, the report said.

“Last year alone in Nigeria, there were more people killed because of their Christian faith than in all other places in the world combined,” Ryan Brown, CEO of Open Doors US, told Fox News Digital, adding, “To be precise, 4,998 Christians were killed because of their faith in Nigeria last year.”

In testimonies collected for Open Doors International’s report, “No Road Home,” attacks on Christians were allegedly carried out by the Islamist terrorist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa, and by predominantly Muslim Fulani militants who were originally herders.

“When the Fulani gunmen came to attack, they could be heard shouting ‘Allahu Akbar (Allah is greatest), we are going to destroy all Christians,’” one person interviewed in the report said.

Another added: “The Fulani started shooting, burning houses. They burned our animals and our maize plants.”

Other respondents report that in some cases Christians are forced to convert to Islam to obtain food or to preserve their livelihoods.

Between October 2019 and September 2023, the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa reports that 16,769 Christians were killed.

Some areas of Nigeria are considered unstable for people of all faiths, but during the same period, 6,235 Muslims were killed, about a third of the number of Christians. Up to 49% of Nigeria’s population is believed to be Christian.

The report highlights how persecution has forced Nigerian Christians to flee to other parts of the country and become internally displaced persons (IDPs). “The extreme violence that has taken place in parts of Nigeria over the past decade has led to massive displacement of Christian communities.”

Christians, the report adds, “have been targeted by violence, faced harsh living conditions and confronted faith-related challenges throughout their journey of displacement.”

The situation is getting worse. According to the report, Nigeria had 1.1 million internally displaced people in 2014. “By 2023, there will be 3.4 million.”

Christian pastor Benjamin Barnabas was walking on his farm with his family when suspected Fulani militants “came with guns, machetes and sticks.” The pastor was beaten. “We lost everything I had. Everything in my house and village was burned, I was left with nothing.”

He has been living in a small tent for five years, as an internally displaced person. His mission, he says, is to be a pastor for thousands of people in a displacement camp. “We are displaced because of violence. The media does not care, we remain in the dark, forgotten, ignored.”

“The rest of the world seems to be turning a blind eye,” Brown told Fox News Digital. “People aren’t talking about it. They’re not aware of the realities, and therefore they’re not doing anything about it.”

Regarding displaced Nigerian Christians, the Open Doors report adds that “displaced people in the North Central region have been largely ignored. The needs far exceed current financial commitments by international governments.”

These displaced persons also reported “land grabbing, including by attackers who remained on the land belonging to the displaced persons. Their land remains destroyed, occupied or unprotected by the security forces.”

The report claims that supporters of the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram are particularly vindictive towards Christians in Nigeria.

“Boko Haram targets people who work with the church,” said one interviewee. “You may have a position as a secretary or any position in the church, you are a target. In every community, they have a list of people they are looking for.”

In Borno state government camps, the report says, “to access essential support, some felt compelled to convert to Islam or deliberately hide their faith.”

Moreover, “in some educational institutions they could not enter with Christian names.”

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “We are deeply concerned by the high levels of violence in Nigeria, including intercommunal violence and attacks by non-state armed groups against religious communities of all faiths and beliefs.”

The spokesperson added: “Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-WA) and other armed groups continue to attack population centers and religious targets, including churches and mosques, as well as military targets, despite efforts by the Nigerian government to counter them.”

“Boko Haram and ISIS-WA have been designated by the Secretary of State as entities of particular concern with respect to religious freedom. In numerous meetings and visits this year, U.S. officials, from the Secretary of State to the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs to the Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, have urged the Nigerian government to intensify its efforts to address the causes of conflict in the country, including criminality and the lack of justice and accountability for the violence, as well as its impact on members of religious communities of all faiths, including Christians.”

The State Department says it is actively working to reverse the situation. “We are also working with Nigerian security services to help them respond more effectively to threats, while supporting police and justice reform programs, peacebuilding, dialogue efforts, and development programs to help prevent and mitigate conflict.”

But Nigeria is not the only country affected. “Across sub-Saharan Africa, we are seeing an increase in violence and persecution, which can take the form of violent physical attacks,” Brown added. “It can take the form of destruction of property or looting.”

“The problem is getting worse as Christians are being forced to leave their homes and live in internally displaced persons camps. We see thousands of people being forced to live in cramped and overcrowded conditions, thousands of people living under tarpaulins with limited access to food and sanitation. In fact, we see thousands of people having to share a few toilets in these camps. So the situation across Africa is serious and without intervention, the trend is getting worse.”

This week, South Africa’s top Jewish cleric had unusually harsh words for the Pope and the head of the Church of England for failing to help their Christian followers in Africa.

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein issued a statement saying: “They stand by while their Christian brothers in Africa are slaughtered by jihadist groups with direct ties to Israel’s enemies in Gaza and the West Bank – groups like Boko Haram, ISIS and al-Shabaab who are Hamas’ ideological brothers-in-arms.”

Brown told Fox News Digital that positive change can happen if governments and the faith community come together. “I think as we become more aware of this and we increase our awareness, align with our brothers and sisters and stand in solidarity with Africa, we are sending a strong message.”

“It sends a message that the world is paying attention to other countries, to the UN or to other agencies involved in international aid. It can send a message that the protection of religious freedoms must be taken into account in their strategies and their programs. And you know, and this is perhaps even more important, it sends a message to our brothers and sisters in Africa: we see them and we do not forget them.”

It also seems that Christian children are not spared from trauma.

One parent interviewed for the Open Doors report explained: “My children, every time they hear something, they panic or hide because it triggers trauma. The terror of the attacks has not stopped, it has actually increased.”

Fox News Digital made a second attempt this year to obtain comment from Nigeria, again contacting the country’s embassy in the United States and its foreign ministry in Abuja, but received no response.