Thousands of Christians ‘deliberately targeted’ and killed in Nigeria, new report says

FIRST ON FOX - The killing, persecution and displacement of Christians in Nigeria is "unrelenting" and "a time bomb", according to a major new report. 

Christians "are deliberately targeted", as well as "Christian communities, their livelihood(s), faith leaders and places of worship", according to the report by Open Doors International, a faith-based non-profit working to raise awareness of global persecution, aiming to mobilize prayer, support and action among Christians. Christians are reportedly becoming "an endangered species" there, the report says.

"Last year alone, in Nigeria there were more people that were killed because of their Christian faith than all other places in the globe combined," Ryan Brown, the CEO Of Open Doors U.S., told Fox News Digital, adding "to be specific, there were 4998 Christians that were killed because of their faith in Nigeria last year."

In testimonies recorded for the Open Doors International report, titled "No Road Home," attacks on Christians are said to have been carried out by Islamist terror groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province, and predominantly Muslim Fulani militants, who originally were herdsmen.

"When the Fulani gunmen came to attack, they could be heard shouting ‘Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest), we will destroy all Christians,'" one interviewee claimed in the report. Another added, "The Fulani started to shoot, burning houses. They burnt our animals and maize plants."

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Other interviewees report that in some cases, Christians are being forced to convert to Islam to get food, or to preserve their livelihood.

In the period from October 2019 to September 2023, the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa reports that 16,769 Christians were killed. Parts of Nigeria are reported to be predominantly unstable for people of all religions, but in the same period, 6,235 Muslims were killed – around a third of the number of Christians. Up to 49% of Nigeria’s population is said to be Christian.

The report highlights how persecution has forced Nigerian Christians to flee to other parts of the country and to become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs.) "Extreme violence across parts of Nigeria over the last decade has resulted in mass displacement of Christian communities."

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Christians, the report adds, "have been singled out for violence, face harsh living conditions and experience faith-based challenges throughout their displacement journey."

The situation is getting worse. In total, in 2014, the report claims there were 1.1 million IDPs in Nigeria. "As of 2023, there are 3.4 million."

Christian Pastor Benjamin Barnabas was walking on his farm with his family when alleged Fulani militants "came with guns, machetes and sticks." The pastor was beaten. "We lost everything that I had. Everything in my home and village was burnt, I was left with nothing." 

He has been living as an IDP in a small tent for five years. His mission, he says, is to be a minister for thousands in an IDP camp. "We are displaced because of violence. The news doesn’t care about it, we are remaining in darkness – being forgotten, being disregarded."

"The rest of the world seems to be turning a blind eye," Brown told Fox News Digital. "People are not talking about it. People are not aware of the realities, and therefore people aren't doing anything about it."

Referring to Nigerian Christian IDPs, the Open Doors report adds "those displaced in the North-Central region have been largely ignored. Need far outpaces current funding commitments by international governments."

These IDPs also reported "land grabbing, which included attackers remaining on the land belonging to the displaced. Their lands remain destroyed, occupied or unprotected by security forces."

The report claims supporters of the Islamist terror group Boko Haram are particularly vindictive against Christians in Nigeria. "Boko Haram target people that are working with the Church," claims one interviewee, "maybe you have a position like Secretary, or you have any position in  Church, you are a target. In every community they have a list of people they are looking for."

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In state government camps in Borno, the report claims "to gain access to critical support, some have felt compelled to convert to Islam or deliberately hide their faith."

Additionally, "in some places of education they could not gain access with Christian names."

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "We are deeply concerned about the high levels of violence in Nigeria, including intercommunal violence and attacks by non-state armed groups on religious communities of all religions and beliefs."

The spokesperson continued, "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 Nigerian government efforts to counter them."   

"Both Boko Haram and ISIS-WA have been designated by the Secretary of State as Entities of Particular Concern for religious freedom. In numerous meetings and visits this year, U.S. officials from the Secretary of State, to Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, to the Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom, have urged the government of Nigeria to intensify efforts to address the drivers of conflicts in Nigeria, including criminality and the lack of justice and accountability for violence, and its impact on members of religious communities of all faiths, including Christians."  

The State Department claims it is actively trying to turn the tables. "We are also working with Nigerian security services to help them respond more effectively to threats, as well as supporting police and justice reform programs, peacebuilding, dialogue efforts, and development programs to help prevent and mitigate conflict."

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However, it is not only Nigeria that is affected. "Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, we are seeing an increase in violence, in the persecution, and that can take the form of physical, violent attacks," Ryan Brown added. "It can take the form of destruction of property. It can take the form of looting."

"There is a growing problem as Christians are forced from their homes and living in these internally displaced camps, we are seeing that there are literally thousands of individuals that are being forced to live in these tight and cramped conditions, thousands of people that are living under tarps with limited access to food or hygiene. In fact, you can see literally thousands of people having to share just a couple of toilets in these camps. And so the situation throughout Africa is severe and without some type of intervention, the trend is that it is continuing to worsen."

This week, South Africa’s most senior Jewish clergyman had some unusually harsh words for the pope and the head of the Church of England for not helping their Christian flock in Africa.  Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein released a statement declaring, "They stand by passively as their fellow Christians in Africa are butchered by Jihadi groups with direct ties to Israel's enemies in Gaza and the West Bank – groups like Boko Haram, ISIS and al-Shabaab that are the ideological brothers in arms of Hamas."

Brown told Fox News Digital that a positive change can come if governments and the church community stand together. "I think, as we become aware and increase that awareness and align ourselves with our brothers and sisters and stand in solidarity in Africa, it sends a vocal message."

"It sends a message that the world is watching for other countries or the U.N. or other bodies involved in international aid. It can send this message that the protection of religious liberties needs to be considered in their strategies and in their programs. And you know, perhaps even most importantly, for our brothers and sisters in Africa, it sends a message that we see them and they are not forgotten."

It is also reported that Christian children are not spared from trauma. One parent interviewed for the Open Doors report explained "my children, each time they hear anything, they panic or go into hiding because it triggers the trauma. The terror of the attacks has not stopped, rather it has increased." 

Fox News Digital tried for the second time this year to get comments from Nigeria, again contacting the country’s embassy in the U.S., and its Foreign Ministry in Abuja, but without response.