Nigeria has become the epicenter of global Christian persecution, and new attention from the White House is bringing long-ignored atrocities into the international spotlight.
In a video by CBN News’ Raj Nair, the outlet looked at statistics on Christian persecution from Open Doors, a Christian watchdog organization, which shows that 72% of Christians murdered for their faith worldwide last year were killed in Nigeria.
Joining Nair was Mariam Wahba, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who explained that persecution in Nigeria falls into “one of two buckets.”
“First, you have your classic Islamist jihadi forces,” Wahba said, pointing to groups such as ISIS affiliates and Boko Haram. “Here, when we’re talking about these groups persecuting Christians, the classic images of murdering Christians and kidnapping Christians should come to mind.”
But Wahba emphasized that a second, less understood form of persecution has been accelerating.
“What’s interesting about the second bucket of Christian persecution taking place in Nigeria today is that it’s not being perpetrated by your classic Islamist jihadi groups,” she said. Instead, she pointed to Fulani militants, an ethnic group historically known for nomadic herding.
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“These conflicts are about resources—water resources, land resources,” Wahba explained, noting long-standing tensions between Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farmers. However, she added that something has shifted. “Unfortunately, in the last few years, we’re seeing a religious undertone take place on some of these attacks… organized militia efforts… attacking Christians not just because of resources, but for their faith.”
The core problem, according to Wahba, is a failure of governance.
“The Nigerian government has been unable and really unwilling to enforce its own laws,” she said. “This is really a security issue, and it’s in Nigeria’s best interest to begin to address the security.”
That failure prompted action from the Trump administration. Waba revealed that the White House established a working group on Jan. 22 and has sent U.S. military commanders to Abuja to pressure Nigeria’s government to act.
“The goal is to try to enable them to enforce their own laws and begin to decrease the security gap that we’re seeing take place,” she said.
In addition, Wahba confirmed that on Christmas Day, the president “ordered air strikes on an ISIS affiliate in the northwestern region of Nigeria,” calling it “certainly a welcome step,” though not a complete solution.
While some fear conditions are worsening, Waba offered a measured perspective. “I don’t think they’re necessarily happening more frequently,” she said of reported attacks. “Now that we know about this issue via the spotlight, we’re hearing more things that were happening that we weren’t hearing about before.”
During this time, continue to lift the persecuted church in Nigeria, which faces death and torment each day for their faith in Jesus Christ, in prayer.
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the upcoming book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment.
