More than 35,000 have been killed, and over 2 million have been displaced as a result of Islamist extremists' violence
Photo credit: NN News Media
Nigeria is one of the world's largest Christian countries, ranked sixth globally in terms of its Christian population. The religious landscape of Nigeria is primarily divided between Christianity and Islam, with the southern regions predominantly Christian and the northern regions mainly Muslim.
Christians in Nigeria are primarily found in the south and belong to various denominations, including Protestant/Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Roman Catholic. In contrast, the northern part of Nigeria is largely Muslim. According to a 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, about 50% of Nigerians are Muslims, 48.1% are Christians, and the remaining population practices various indigenous religions (Global Christian Relief) (Mission Network News).
Christian persecution in Nigeria remains a critical issue, with ever-alarming levels of violence and human rights abuses reported. Open Doors USA Nigeria ranked Nigeria as the sixth-worst to be a Christian due to the heavy persecution the community faces. The violence predominantly affects Christians in the northern regions and the Middle Belt, where Islamic militant groups like Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, and the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) operate with increasing impunity. With a population of 223 million people (March 2023), there are about 100 million Christians currently living in Nigeria.
This religious division has significant social and political ramifications, often contributing to tensions and conflicts, especially in regions where the two religious communities intersect. Politically, the government has to guarantee safety and order to protect citizens of all religious groups in Nigeria.
Its Prolonged Reign of Terror: Sharia Law
a religious law that lays down governing principles for spiritual, mental, and physical behavior that must be followed by Muslims. Regarded as God’s command for Muslims, Sharia law is essentially Islam’s legal system.
In 2023, over 50,000 Christians were killed by Islamist extremists. The insurgency of the Islamic extremist group known as Boko Haram began in Northeastern Nigeria in 2009, though the organization had existed since the 1990s. Driven by the goal of imposing its version of Sharia (Islamic law), Boko Haram has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Nigerians and the loss of freedom and dignity for many others, incessantly targeting Christians and their beliefs.
The organization gained global attention when it kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, sparking international outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. As of June 2022, over 100 of the girls were still missing (Aljazeera). Since 2009, extremist violence in Borno State has killed at least 35,000 Nigerians and displaced over 2 million. An April study by the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law reported that 52,250 people have been killed in Nigeria over the past 14 years for being Christians. The report continues religiously motivated attacks that have resulted in the deaths of over 5,600 Christians, the targeting of more than 2,100 churches, and the forcible displacement of over 124,000 Christians, with nearly 15,000 becoming refugees.
90 percent of the 5,600 Christians slaughtered last year (2022) for their beliefs were from Nigeria.
In northern Nigeria, the enforcement of Sharia law results in systematic discrimination against Christian residents, effectively treating them as second-class citizens. The attacks they endure are often brutal, involving property destruction, abductions for ransom, sexual violence, and death. These assaults strip believers of their livelihoods and drive them from their homes, leaving behind a trail of grief and trauma.
More Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria each year than in any other country combined. Men and boys are often specifically targeted to undermine the future growth of Christian families. Women and girls face abduction and sexual violence. (Global Christian Relief) (Mission Network News) (Open Doors International).
“My prayer is that we should rely on God because He is everything we live for.”PASTOR ZACHARIAH, WHOSE WIFE AND CHILDREN WERE KILLED BY FULANI MILITANTS
The world will remember and, for years to come, struggle to reconcile how it was possible to take another human life when neither was a threat.
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