Advocates Urge Stronger US Action As Attacks Against Christians Grow In Nigeria – Religion Unplugged

The U.S. designation of Nigeria as an egregious violator of religious freedoms has not gone far enough to stem violence there, top persecution watchdogs said amid an intense uptick in attacks on Christians in the African nation.
The comments came after a string of murderous attacks, including one during a livestreamed worship service Nov. 18 at Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara, a state in Nigeria’s middle belt but with significant ties to the north. Terrorists killed three and kidnapped at least 30 including the pastor, it was widely reported, capping three days of intense violence.
On Friday, more than 200 schoolchildren and teachers were abducted from a Catholic school in western Nigeria, The Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is among many calling for the U.S. government to move quickly to institute punitive and deterrent measures allowed since U.S. President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a County of Particular Concern.
“USCIRF calls for the U.S. government to develop a robust plan with the Nigerian government to secure freedom of religion or belief (FORB), hold perpetrators that violate religious freedom to account, and to support efforts to rescue those held captive because of their faith,” USCIRF said Nov. 20 in a press release today. “Nearly three weeks since President Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), there has been an escalation in violence, highlighting the relevance of the designation.”
The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission continued to commend the CPC designation that followed nearly four years of advocacy.
“The Trump administration’s determination of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern is a timely reminder that the practice of protecting international religious freedom should remain a pillar of our nation’s foreign policy and diplomacy efforts,” ERLC Senior Policy Manager Katy Roberts told Baptist Press. “This designation is an important punitive measure that will prompt corrective action in Nigeria and lead to greater safety and honor for all those suffering on account of their faith.”
Roberts described Nigeria as a valuable U.S. partner “from a diplomatic, economic, and bilateral trade perspective,” but lamented the escalating violence.
“Unfortunately, over the past 15 years, insurrectionists in Nigeria have inflicted mass bloodshed, worsening year after year. Thousands of Nigerian Christians are killed annually, in large part, because of their choice to follow Christ,” Roberts said. “As believers, this should break our hearts, stir our collective conscience, and prompt us to act.”
Trump designated Nigeria a CPC Oct. 31 for tolerating religious freedom violations, and threatened sanctions and possibly military force. ERLC Interim President Gary Hollingsworth joined other faith leaders thanking Trump for the designation.
The Global Coalition on Freedom of Religion in Nigeria, a group of Christian and civic advocates in Nigeria and across the diaspora, in a detailed open letter called on the Nigerian government to respond to the violence ahead of a trip to the U.S. by a group of Nigerian National Assembly members.
“We are concerned that rather than investigate the claims against Nigeria currently under review by the U.S. Congress, the National Assembly is sending a team to attempt to deny what is already undeniable,” GCFRN said in its letter. “The delegation would open itself to ridicule because they would be confronted with documented facts and data which they will not be able to refute. The result may simply be proof to the USA and the international community that the Nigerian government at best, is too weak to confront the situation in Nigeria and or is even complicit.
“We therefore appeal to you to address the situation urgently so that the government may act appropriately, thereby avoiding the need for external intervention.”
CSW, among many religious freedom advocates highlighting the GCFRN letter and urging the Nigerian government to counter the violence, said the attack on Christ Apostolic Church occurred during a service thanking God for the release of 18 people who had been kidnapped about three weeks earlier.
CSW linked in a Nov. 20 press release video footage of the attack, captured on the livestream, showing worshipers seeking cover as armed terrorists entered the sanctuary and confiscated worshipers’ belongings including purses, and as numerous gunshots and cries of terror sounded out of camera range.
Kwara has suffered significant attacks, CSW said, since the emergence of the resurgent terrorist faction Lakuwara, affiliated with the Islamic State Sahel Province, and the emergence of Mahmuda, which CSW described as a terror group believed to be a breakaway faction from Boko Haram with alleged links to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Among latest attacks CSW cited:
— Nov. 17, the Islamic State West Africa Province executed Brigadier General Muhammed Uba, who was captured Nov. 15 following an ambush on his convoy near Wajiroko village in Borno State. Two soldiers and two Civilian Joint Task Force officials died in the attack.
— Also Nov. 17, armed assailants scaled the walls and abducted 25 girls from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, at around 4 a.m. One girl subsequently escaped, but attackers killed Assistant Principal Hassan Yakubu Makuku and injured another staff member.
— The Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna reported the Nov. 17 abduction of St. Stephen Parish Priest Bobbo Paschal from his residence in Kagarko, killing the brother of another priest and abducting several people.
— During an attack Nov. 11 on the Gidan Waya community in Yarkasuwa, four people were killed, three people were hospitalized with serious injuries, and an Evangelical Church Winning All minister was among 13 abducted, including children and several women.
“CSW joins the Global Coalition on Freedom of Religion in Nigeria in calling on the government to urgently address violations of freedom of religion or belief across the country,” CSW CEO Scot Bower said in the press release. “Recent attacks in Borno, Kaduna, Kebbi and Kwara States – just a snapshot of the appalling violence to which communities in the north and center of the country have been subjected for over a decade – underscore the severity of the security situation yet again and must be responded to decisively.
“We call on the international community to assist Nigeria wherever possible in tracing and holding funders, facilitators and perpetrators of terror- and religion-related violence to account.”
More Christians are killed in Nigeria than anywhere else, with Open Doors International reporting 3,100 Nigerians killed in 2024 because of their Christianity, accounting for the vast majority of the 4,476 Christians killed that year worldwide, according to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List released in January.
This article has been republished courtesy of Baptist Press.
Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.
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