Nigeria

The mass murder of praying congregants in a Nigerian church was horrific enough. But even worse was the daft conclusion of Irish President Michael Higgins that it was another grim consequence of climate change.

On Easter weekend Christians the world over prayed; some went to church. In Nigeria’s Plateau State, a Fulani pastor was martyred.

In Nigeria—Africa’s most populous country—violence and bloodshed continue to surge, week after week, month after month. Tragically, our Christian brothers and sisters are the primary targets of Islamist terrorism—murders, rapes, kidnapping, and never-ending threats of more.

The US has inexplicably removed Nigeria from its State Department list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC). To some, that may sound like innocuous paperwork or an ambassadorial feel-good gesture. But, in fact, this de-listing of Nigeria’s CPC designation is an outrageous betrayal of an already brutalized Christian community.

Around 350,000 people have been killed due to violence in northern Nigeria as of the end of 2020, according to new UN estimates. Many of those killed were Christians.

Christians in Nigeria and Ethiopia face nothing short of genocide. Religious and ethnic carnage have become an all-too-familiar reality in both countries, with no end in sight.

Human rights advocates, when looking at Nigeria’s north and central regions, fear an accelerating disintegration of Nigeria’s society and institutions. We all should be concerned that, if current trends are not arrested, Nigeria may implode, with global economic ramifications. A new wave of Nigerian displacement and emigration would rival those associated with Libya, Syria, and Iraq.

One important theme of the pontificate of Pope Francis has been a message of hope to Christians in the Middle East and Africa that they are not forgotten.

As the United States continues its political transition, many in the human rights advocacy community anxiously await tangible signs, beyond rhetoric, that the cause of international religious freedom will remain a policy priority for the Biden administration.