Nigerian Bishops Say Anti-Christian Insurgents Have Taken Over Their Country

Nigerian Catholic bishops are sounding the alarm on violent anti-Christian insurgents virtually taking over the country. Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians, with more than two decades of Islamic terrorism against Christians leaving tens of thousands dead and many millions more displaced.

Radical Muslim groups continue to cause chaos and death in Nigeria. Catholic outlet Crux reported on Sept. 27, “With a Christian being slain every two hours for their faith, Nigeria has the unsavory distinction of being the world’s greatest persecutor of Christians, according to Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors.” That is based on 2021 data, which showed that over 80% of all Christians killed for their faith globally that year were Nigerian. Crux highlighted the ongoing crisis:

Catholic bishops in Africa’s most populous nation have warned that Nigeria effectively has been taken over by insurgents, militia and criminal gangs, with Christians, including Catholic priests, among the most frequent victims.

At the end of their Second Plenary Meeting, held at a hotel in the capital area of Abuja Sept. 7-15, the bishops denounced widespread violence and chaos in Nigeria, a situation they said is compounded by rising economic unease and lack of political transparency.

According to the bishops, insecurity “has remained a persistent problem in our country as insurgents, herdsmen militia, bandits, and so-called ‘unknown gunmen’ have continued to unleash terror in different parts of the country.” Catholic clergy and other Christians continue to be kidnapped for ransom. Crux cited global research firm SB Morgan Intelligence, which says that 30 Catholic priests were kidnapped, while at least 39 priests were killed in 2022.

While some outlets that report on this problem refuse to explain the religious motivation behind the violence, radical Islamic groups are driving much of it (if not nearly all of it). The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a report last September detailing aspects of the crisis of religious persecution in Nigeria.

In Nov. 2022, The Christian Post cited watchdog International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law and others to report on the years of devastating Islamic violence in Nigeria. The two-decade-long death toll was estimated at 60,000 Christians, with an estimated 10 million more displaced between July 2009 and July 2021.

The violence from various Islamic groups, including Islamic State, Boko Haram, and Fulani herdsmen, continued unabated in 2022. Christian Post reported that Muslim jihadis killed “at least 4,000 Christians and abduct[ed] more than 2,300 other Christians” just in the first ten months of 2022. As of now, based on what the Catholic bishops said, these violent radicals appear to have completely overrun the entire country.