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Posted: Friday, October 3, 2025. 1:31 pm CST.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: For most, it’s hard to imagine a world in 2025 in which tens of thousands of people, if not much more, are being put to death and massacred, simply for their faith in Jesus Christ, but for the last 10 years, this has been exactly the reality for Christians living in Nigeria.
For more than a decade, communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt and northeast have endured relentless attacks that church leaders, rights groups, and some international observers now describe as a genocide against Christians. Despite mounting evidence of systematic targeting, global awareness remains limited, and survivors often feel abandoned by both their government and the wider world. The issue broke into broader mainstream awareness when comedian and political commentator Bill Maher addressed it on his show in September 2025, characterizing the violence as a genocide and criticizing mainstream media for failing to give it the coverage it deserves because the conflict does not involve any Jews. Maher’s remarks, though controversial, echoed the frustration of many activists who believe the international silence has enabled the killings to continue unchecked.
Massacres and Attacks
In December 2023, coordinated assaults in Plateau State left hundreds of villagers dead in what local officials described as one of the deadliest Christmas massacres in recent memory. According to BBC News, entire Christian farming villages were wiped out by armed groups, leaving mass graves behind. The Guardian reported more than 140 deaths, while The New York Times put the toll at hundreds, describing the victims as “mostly Christians.” These killings fit a grim pattern stretching back more than a decade, a pattern that watchdog organizations say is far larger and deadlier than many realize.
The International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety Nigeria) estimates that over 18,000 Christians have been killed since 2009, with thousands of churches burned or destroyed. Open Doors International, which monitors persecution worldwide, ranks Nigeria as the sixth most dangerous country for Christians and reported more than 4,100 Christian deaths in 2023 alone. These statistics, while staggering, gain devastating clarity when seen in the light of individual tragedies. In January 2023, in Niger State, Rev. Isaac Achi, a Catholic priest, was burned alive in his home after gunmen, unable to force their way inside, set the building on fire. A second priest narrowly survived with gunshot wounds. Months earlier, in June 2022, worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State were gunned down and bombed during Mass, leaving at least 50 people dead and more than 100 injured. In May 2025, attacks in Benue State wiped out four Christian farming communities, killing 42 people including women, children, and a Catholic priest who was critically wounded. Each of these atrocities echoes across Nigeria’s Christian communities, deepening a sense of fear, abandonment, and grief.
Perpetrators and Ideology
The perpetrators are varied but united by ideology and violence. Boko Haram, infamous for its 2014 Chibok schoolgirl kidnappings, has waged an Islamist insurgency since 2009, killing thousands of Christians and destroying countless churches. Its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), continues to launch deadly raids. Meanwhile, armed Fulani herder militias, described by the Global Terrorism Index as among the world’s deadliest groups, conduct waves of attacks on predominantly Christian farming villages in the Middle Belt. Although some analysts frame these as farmer-herder disputes driven by land pressures, survivors and rights groups insist the religious dimension is undeniable, pointing to attacks timed around Christmas and Easter and the systematic targeting of Christian communities.
Government Inaction
The Nigerian government has faced withering criticism for its failure to protect its citizens. Under former President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani Muslim, authorities were accused of downplaying attacks, framing them as “communal clashes” while providing little protection or accountability. Even now under President Bola Tinubu, survivors say that security forces often arrive too late or not at all, while perpetrators largely go unpunished. In some cases, Christians defending their villages have themselves been arrested, fueling accusations of state bias or indifference. Groups like Christian Solidarity International have gone so far as to formally declare the crisis a genocide, while the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has repeatedly flagged Nigeria as one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a person of faith.
A Global Pattern of Persecution
Whether or not the violence meets the strict legal definition of genocide, the intent to erase Christian presence from large swathes of Nigeria appears unmistakable. Entire villages lie in ruins, churches stand as blackened shells, and countless families mourn loved ones taken by sudden brutality. The silence of the international community compounds the suffering, with sporadic coverage from outlets such as Reuters, BBC, and The Guardian but little sustained reporting compared to crises elsewhere.
Nigeria is not alone in this grim reality. According to Open Doors’ World Watch List, the most dangerous country for Christians is North Korea, where believers risk execution or life in labor camps simply for owning a Bible or gathering in secret. In Somalia, Islamist extremists such as al-Shabaab enforce a brutal ban on Christianity, and even suspected converts face instant execution. Libya’s ongoing chaos leaves Christians vulnerable to kidnappings and killings by both militias and ISIS-linked groups. Eritrea functions as a prison state where unsanctioned worship can mean indefinite detention in harsh conditions, while in Yemen, civil war and Islamist extremism force Christians underground, exposing them to harassment or death. In Pakistan, harsh blasphemy laws and forced conversions create daily risks for Christians, particularly in rural and working-class communities.
A Crisis Without End?
Against this global backdrop, Nigeria stands out not only for the sheer number of Christians killed each year but also for the lack of accountability. What is unfolding is a slow-motion campaign of persecution that has emptied villages, silenced church bells, and left thousands grieving in silence. For many Christians in Nigeria, the message from their attackers is clear: they have no place in their homeland unless they convert, flee, or perish. And until the government takes decisive action or the world begins to pay attention, the killings are likely to continue — a genocide in all but name.
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