ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Christian communities across Nigeria are facing a surge of deadly attacks, with international watchdogs warning that violence against believers has reached one of its highest levels in years.
Open Doors International ranks Nigeria among the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians, citing relentless assaults by extremist groups. Intersociety, a Nigerian rights organization, reported that more than 7,000 Christians were killed in 2025, with over 100 deaths and six churches destroyed in just a two‑week period.
The violence has claimed victims across age groups and denominations. In 2022, Deborah Samuel, a Christian college student in Sokoto, was beaten and burned to death by a mob after being accused of blasphemy — a killing that drew global outrage.
That same year, Eunice Olawale, a Redeemed Christian Church of God evangelist and mother of seven, was murdered in Abuja while preaching during her early‑morning evangelism routine. Her killing shocked the nation and became one of the most widely cited examples of the growing dangers faced by Christians even in Nigeria’s capital.
International Christian Concern reported that at least 20 Christians were killed days before Christmas in coordinated attacks across the Middle Belt, a region long plagued by jihadist factions, armed militias, and criminal gangs.
Church leaders say the pattern is unmistakable. “Christians are being targeted, and the world is not paying attention,” one pastor told Open Doors during a global briefing.
The Nigerian government rejects claims that Christians are being singled out, insisting the violence affects “people of all faiths” and is driven by criminality, land disputes, and extremist ideology rather than religious persecution. Officials say they are working to protect all civilians amid a nationwide security crisis.
But advocacy groups argue the scale and frequency of attacks on Christian communities point to a worsening trend. Many warn that the killings are accelerating even as global attention shifts elsewhere.
For families in the affected regions, the fear is constant — and the question remains whether the world will acknowledge the crisis before more lives are lost.
