More than 7,000 Nigerian Christians have been murdered in the first 220 days of this year. That’s an average of 32 for every day of the year, so far. The killers have been terrorists from Islamic extremist groups and radicalised Fulani herder Muslim militias. Nearly 8,000 Christians were violently seized and kidnapped by the same groups — usually for ransom. All this data has been verified by the Nigerian-based International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety). It is run by Christian criminologist and researcher Emeka Umeagbalasi. The organisation relies on what it deems to be credible local and foreign media reports, government accounts, reports from international rights groups and eyewitness accounts to compile the data. It estimates tens of thousands of Nigerian Christians have been murdered in the last decade. Intersociety reports that “185,009 defenceless Nigerians” have been killed since 2009, including 125,009 Christians and 60,000 liberal Muslims.
Its data indicates 19,100 churches were razed during the same period when more than 1,100 Christian communities were pillaged and 600 Christian clerics abducted, including 250 Catholic priests and 350 pastors. Tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, more people have been displaced amid the rise of Islamic extremist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State-affiliated extremists in the northeast of the country. Intersociety also claims that Nigeria is providing a “safe haven” to at least 22 Islamic terror groups, several of which reportedly have links to Islamic State and the World Jihad Fund. The organisation began tracking violence against Christians and religious intolerance in Nigeria in 2010. “We have been following the patterns and trends, and the situation is getting worse,” Mr. Umeagbalasi told The Christian Post. Human rights advocates continue to criticise the Nigerian government’s inability to protect Christians. Persecution watchdog Open Doors reports that more than 16 million Christians have been driven from their homes across Africa in the past decade.
Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK, said: “We need justice, restoration, and protection for these communities. The world must wake up to this crisis.” Nigerian youth leader D’Young Mangut said: “People are being killed like chickens, and nothing is being done.” Mr. Umeagbalasi believes the Nigerian government is culpable, telling The Christian Post that it has not apprehended the perpetrators for many of the mass killings. He condemned the government for arresting victims of Fulani militias who attempted to defend themselves. “For over a decade, atrocities against civilians in Nigeria have been downplayed or minimised,” according to Intersociety’s 136-page report. It said Islamic groups are working in concert to eradicate Christianity and indigenous cultural traditions across Nigeria, with the long-term goal of imposing a caliphate or sultanate in which political authority and religious leadership are fused under Islamic law. There is precedent for such a model.
The Sokoto Caliphate was established in 1804. At its height, it controlled most of what is now northern Nigeria and parts of neighbouring countries, enforcing Islamic Sharia law and governing through a network of emirs. The British dismantled the caliphate’s sovereign authority in 1903, but its religious and cultural influence endures to this day. The White House has this month pledged to take action following the wave of brutal attacks on Christians in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. A spokesperson said: “The Trump administration condemns this horrific violence against Christians.” A US State Department official added: “Religious freedom is a moral and national security imperative.” Addressing how the United States and other Western governments can address the issue, Mr. Umeagbalasi said the US State Department must include Nigeria on its Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list. It carries with it the possibility of sanctions and other deterrent measures. Nigeria was on the CPC list during President Trump’s first term, but the Biden administration removed it.
Source: Vision Christian Media
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