Nigeria: Ranked as the Most Dangerous Place for Christians

The International Christian Concern (ICC), a non-partisan Christian organization, has identified Nigeria as one of the most perilous locations for Christians worldwide.

In the last two decades, extremists and militants have been perpetrating the killing of Christians and confiscating their land in Nigeria, according to the ICC’s 2023 report on Christian persecution worldwide.

The report categorizes the violence and other atrocities committed against Christians in Nigeria as genocide.

While Nigerian leaders attribute the attacks to clashes between farmers and herders intertwined with ethnic conflicts, the ICC’s report contradicts this viewpoint.

The report reads, “Nigeria is arguably the most dangerous place to be a Christian in the world today. In the North, a very hostile group of Muslim extremists have attacked and devastated the minority population of Christians. In the Middle Belt, armed Islamic terrorists, known as Fulani militants, have been killing Christians and stealing their land at a prodigious rate for the last 20 years.

“Between mass murder and land stealing, millions of Christians have been displaced. Since May 2011, Boko Haram alone has been recorded as being responsible for more than 38,000 deaths. Nigerian leaders tell the West that this is a complicated problem between herders and farmers with tribal overlays. But the truth is that we are witnessing a genocide of Christians in the North and Middle Belt, accompanied by an immense land grab.”

In addition, the ICC’s report reveals that between March and July 2023, there have been 55 attacks resulting in the death of 549 Christians in Nigeria.

The report states, “Whether the world acknowledges the plight of Nigerian Christians or not, the country has become a burial ground for Christians.”

The ICC also highlights the threat posed by Sharia law in the 12 northern states of Nigeria, stating that it endangers non-Muslims in those regions.

“Sharia law, as applied today in Nigeria, violates the principles of secularism and endangers non-Muslim religious communities in the northern and Middle Belt regions. Despite repeatedly claiming to be a secular nation, 12 northern states in Nigeria have adopted Islamic Sharia criminal law, meaning that Christians do not participate as equal members of society. Given its inherently religious nature, Sharia is problematic particularly when applied to criminal matters,” the report explains.

The ICC urges the United States of America to reinstate Nigeria on the list of countries with severe violations of religious freedom.

It states, “Nigerian domestic security policy should address the needs of particularly vulnerable religious communities by responding swiftly to threats and ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice. The ICC recommends that Nigeria be listed as a country of Particular Concern every year, which it held in 2020 before being inexplicably removed in 2021.”

Additionally, the ICC suggests conditioning U.S. foreign aid in Nigeria on substantial improvements in religious freedom, including the repeal of blasphemy laws and revoking Sharia courts’ authority in criminal matters.

Other countries on the ICC’s list of oppressive nations towards Christians include North Korea, India, Iran, China, Pakistan, Eritrea, Algeria, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan.