Over recent years, Nigeria has become known to the world as a hotbed for Christian martyrs. The 2024 World Watch List ranked Nigeria as the sixth most likely country for Christians to face extreme persecution. This is a shocking number, as Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, where Christians make up more than half of the population since the latter half of the 20th century. As the death toll rises, the crisis has gained national attention and has even garnered celebrities, like Nicki Minaj, to take a stand against it.
According to the World Watch List, in 2023, 82% of the 4,998 Christians killed for their faith globally happened in Nigeria. According to ORFA, between April and June of 2023, there were 1,637 recorded deaths of Christians, 642 Christians abducted, 119 attacks on communities with fatalities, and 511 other attacks. And those numbers do not appear to be going down, as more than 7000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in just this year, with more than 19,000 Churches burned since 2009.
These attacks can be traced back to the long-held Boko Haram Islamist insurgency, which began in 2009 with the intent to eradicate Christianity from the northern states of Nigeria. Their uprising has resulted in vast quantities of violent acts, the displacement of thousands of people, and has destabilized the country. Some states in the country even have blasphemy laws to prevent people from speaking against Islam. Most of the violence against Nigerian Christians is localized in the northern part of the country, where twelve Muslim-majority states declared sharia law in 1999. Since then, a considerable number of Christians have experienced daily discrimination and the threat of attack. However, the violence has begun to spread southward in recent years, as Fulani herders are killing Christians to steal their land.
According to Global Christian Relief, in any given year, there are rarely fewer than 4,000 Christians killed by extremist groups–a total which is often more than in the rest of the world combined. There have been more than 50,000 Christians killed, with the attacks spreading further from the north into Central Nigeria.
In addition to the murders, many people, young girls in particular, are being kidnapped by the terrorists. For instance, the Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, shared that a day before the United Nations event, a group of 25 school girls were abducted, with the kidnappers’ identities still unknown. Meanwhile, in Ligari, Nigeria, villagers were invaded and forced from their Church by motorcycle-riding gunmen, seizing at least 62 people, which included the pastor and several children. The victims recounted the events, stating that they were forcibly taken to a forest hideout where they spent nearly a month. Their kidnappers starved them and demanded they renounce Christianity.
Meanwhile, their families and other villagers sold anything they could to raise money for ransom demands. Villagers have stated that in Ligari, nearly every home has seen someone killed or abducted. But this is not an isolated incident. Many Church leaders and citizens have recounted stories of the attacks on their faith.
However, the Nigerian government has proven itself unwilling to condemn or resolve the terrorism in its country. It has even gone so far as to deny the genocide altogether. However, with countless videos, online posts, and images of Nigerian Christians begging for help, it is difficult to believe the government’s claims. Many believe the government to be corrupt and uninterested in resolving the heartbreaking situation in the country. Meanwhile, the people of Nigeria are attempting to raise awareness of their plight and express their fear of attack and persecution.
President Trump has commented on the situation, threatening to pull aid from Nigeria and alluding to possibly sending in military action. He announced in late October that he was designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern”.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world!”
Rapper and celebrity Nicki Minaj has backed the President’s comments and has helped to bring this issue further into the public eye. Minaj is an outspoken Christian and has openly spoken out against Christian persecution by Islamic terrorists.
“We live in a country where we can freely worship God. No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion. We don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other.”
Although she has received pushback for her stance, she has held firm in her beliefs, stating:
“It sometimes can feel scary to speak up about anything that may not be the norm or the popular thing to speak about.”
Minaj later spoke on the issue at the United Nations with Mike Waltz and Knox Thames, a human rights lawyer. Thames has expressed his concern, stating:
“The challenges in Nigeria have been happening for decades, and they’ve largely been ignored.”
During her speech at the UN, Minaj stated:
“In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes, and killed. Churches have been burned, families have been torn apart, and entire communities live in fear constantly, simply because of how they pray. Sadly, this problem is not only a growing problem in Nigeria, but also in so many other countries across the world, and it demands urgent action.”
“And I want to be clear, protecting Christians in Nigeria is not about taking sides or dividing people. It is about uniting humanity.”
“No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion, like I recently stated on social media, and we don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other.”
Nicki Minaj’s involvement in this matter has already helped draw more attention to the suffering in Nigeria. With 5 to 1 Christians killed over other groups in the country, public outcry has been growing to put an end to these senseless attacks on faith.
Ultimately, the situation in Nigeria is dire, indeed. Christians should never feel afraid to worship in their own country. Freedom of religion is often a right that many Americans can take for granted. While looking at the tragic events unfolding across the sea, the United States needs to act prudently and be thankful for the rights and freedoms of speech and religion that it has endowed its citizens.