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The escalating wave of systematic attacks on Christians has gripped Nigeria in recent years. On October 31, President Donald Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). The designation comes despite the insistence of some government apologists that no such pattern of anti-Christian violence (which might rightly be called genocide) exists.
The move underscores Washington’s deep concern over the safety and rights of Christians in Nigeria. It is not the first time the United States has taken this step. Nigeria was first listed as a CPC in December 2020 but was delisted in 2021 under President Joe Biden.
On November 1, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had directed the U.S. Department of War—formerly known as the “Department of Defense”—to “prepare for possible action” in Nigeria to defend Christians, accusing the Nigerian government of failing to stop the killings. He also warned that the United States would “immediately stop all aid and assistance” to Nigeria if the violence against Christians continued. “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” Trump declared. “Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. . . . When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide), something must be done!”
The Trump administration’s renewed focus on Nigeria’s human rights record is not without precedent. During former President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the White House in April 2018, Trump had bluntly asked him: “Why are you killing Christians in Nigeria?”
Observers say Washington’s concern is grounded not in speculation but in verified reports of widespread attacks on Christian communities across Nigeria. The United States maintains intelligence and diplomatic channels in the country that provide daily updates on the crisis. Unlike Nigeria—where official data is often incomplete or politically manipulated—U.S. agencies rely on extensive and verifiable records.
In April, during a visit to the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., I was part of a Nigerian delegation that met with Rep. Chris Smith. Smith presented a file detailing the findings of a public hearing on the killings of Christians in Northern Nigeria, chronicling years of violence and persecution. When a member of the Nigerian delegation dismissed the report as “unverified,” Smith, who has visited Northern Nigeria several times, reportedly kept silent. According to observers at the meeting, he saw no need to argue with an uninformed legislator.
In May, during a visit to the British Parliament, another Nigerian lawmaker attempted to downplay the crisis before Lord David Alton of Liverpool, a respected human rights advocate and veteran parliamentarian. After listening quietly, Lord Alton asked, “What about Leah Sharibu—the Chibok girl still being detained for refusing to convert to Islam?” The room fell silent.
The abduction of Leah Sharibu remains one of Nigeria’s most haunting tragedies. On February 19, 2018, Boko Haram terrorists stormed the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, and kidnapped 110 schoolgirls aged eleven to nineteen. Within minutes, they vanished into the bush—an eerie echo of the 2014 Chibok abductions.
After weeks of negotiation, 104 girls were released on March 21, 2018. The militants claimed they freed them on “moral grounds,” declaring they would not harm Muslims. However, five girls reportedly died in captivity, and one—Leah Sharibu, a fourteen-year-old Christian—was held back for refusing to renounce her faith and convert to Islam.
Leah has since become a global symbol of courage and Christian persecution. Yet, years later, her fate remains unknown. Neither the previous government nor the current administration has provided a clear account of her whereabouts.
The anti-Christian violence in Nigeria, analysts say, is now a well-documented and globally recognized humanitarian crisis. No amount of official denial can erase the evidence. At any rate, Nigeria does not need the United States, Britain, or any other foreign power to tell it what is self-evident: that Christian communities across the country are under siege. The killings are extensively documented, with videos, testimonies, and reports from local and international monitors.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has called the killings “an affront to God, a stain on our shared humanity.” The bishops even staged peaceful rallies in protest, yet the violence persists. Emmanuel Ogebe, special counsel for the Justice for Jos Project, said that in 2024 alone, thousands of Christian farmers were murdered by Fulani jihadists. By August 2025, the civil rights group Intersociety reported that more than 7,000 Christians had been killed and another 7,800 abducted since January of that year.
Despite the scale of the atrocities, the Nigerian government has largely remained silent. Survivors often return to rebuild their homes, only to face renewed attacks months later. Authorities frequently describe these massacres as “farmer-herder conflicts,” but human rights observers disagree. The pattern of targeting—churches, Christian villages, and pastors—points to organized religious persecution.
Nigeria’s inability to protect its citizens has fueled accusations that the country is sliding toward state failure. Former President Muhammadu Buhari spent eight years promising to defeat Boko Haram but left office with terrorism still rampant. Today, President Bola Tinubu faces the same test. Yet, instead of tackling insecurity, he appears more preoccupied with securing a second term in 2027.
Under Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, the federal government’s primary duty is to ensure “the security and welfare of the people.” But for thousands of grieving Christian families, that promise rings hollow.
As the killings continue, Nigeria risks repeating the moral collapse that literary icon Chinua Achebe once lamented in There Was a Country: “My feeling toward Nigeria was one of profound disappointment. Not only because mobs were hunting down and killing innocent civilians in many parts, especially in the north, but because the federal government sat by and let it happen.”
From north to south, the evidence of Christian persecution in Nigeria is overwhelming. Yet, many government officials continue to deny the scale of the crisis. Human rights groups and foreign governments, however, continue to document the killings and call for accountability. For the victims, justice remains elusive.
As the violence persists, one painful truth endures: Nigeria’s Christian communities are living under siege, waiting for a day when their faith will no longer be a death sentence.
Image by AUDU MARTE, via Getty Images.
Sonnie Ekwowusi is the chairman of the Human & Constitutional Rights Committee of the African Bar Association.
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