Amid the escalating wave of Christian genocide that has gripped Nigeria in recent years, U.S. President Donald Trump on October 31, 2025, designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). The designation comes despite the insistence of some government apologists that no such 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 removed in 2021 under President Joe Biden.
Following the renewed surge in Christian genocide, President Trump announced that Nigeria has again been placed on the CPC list. On November 1, 2025, he posted on his social media platform that he had directed the U.S. Department of Defense—referred to by him as the “Department of War”— to “prepare for possible war 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. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’—but that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, are being slaughtered as is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide), something must be done. I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter and report back to me. The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and other countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world.”
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 2025, during a visit to the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., this scribbler was part of a Nigerian delegation that met with Congressman Chris Smith, the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives. 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,” Congressman 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 2025, 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. Later in London, a group of young British researchers preparing to travel to Northern Nigeria for fieldwork on religious persecution confirmed that global awareness of the killings is widespread.
The Christian genocide in Nigeria, analysts say, is now a well-documented and globally recognised 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. Below I will attempt to highlight specific incidents of Christian massacres across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones. The list is by no means exhaustive—so widespread are the killings that they defy complete documentation.
1. Gideon Akaluka: A Symbol of Christian Genocide
In 1995, Gideon Akaluka, a young Igbo trader, was accused of desecrating the Qur’an. Before he could be tried, a mob of Muslim fundamentalists, led by Wahhabi extremists, stormed the prison where he was being held in Kano. They dragged him out, beheaded him, and paraded his head on a stake through the streets as a warning to others. No formal charges were ever filed. No trial was held. Akaluka was denied any opportunity to defend himself — his brutal death became one of the earliest symbols of Christian persecution in Nigeria’s modern history.
2. Enugu and Delta States: The Ukpabi-Nimbo Massacre
In 2015 alone, over 15,000 Christians were reportedly killed across Nigeria. The following year, in March 2016, Fulani herdsmen murdered two Catholic reverend sisters and burned more than 17 houses in Abbi, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State. Barely a month later, on April 25, 2016, over 50 residents of Ukpabi-Nimbo community in UzoUwani were slaughtered by armed Fulani terrorists. Dozens of houses were razed, and entire communities were displaced. Soon after, the violence spread to Delta State, where Fulani jihadist herdsmen killed a traditional ruler and several residents, deepening fears of a coordinated assault on Christian populations across southern Nigeria.
3. Kano State: Mob Justice and Blasphemy Killings
Religious intolerance has long plagued Kano State. On March 18, 2013, a suicide car bomb targeted buses carrying Christians at a motor park. The explosion killed dozens and injured many others — a clear indication that Christian civilians, not just farmers, were being systematically targeted. Three years later, on June 2, 2016, a 70-year-old Christian woman from Imo State, Mrs. Bridget Agbahime, was lynched by a mob in Kano after being accused of blaspheming the Qur’an. Shockingly, all five suspects arrested for her murder were discharged and acquitted by a Kano magistrate. Case closed.
4. Abuja: Murder in the Capital
Even Nigeria’s capital has not been spared. On July 9, 2016, Mrs. Eunice Olawale, a deaconess of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), was murdered in Kubwa while preaching during her early-morning evangelism, locally known as “morning cry.” The 42-year-old mother of seven was found with her throat slit. To date, no one has been convicted for her murder. The most devastating attack near Abuja remains the 2011 Christmas Day bombing at St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla. A car bomb exploded during Mass, killing at least 37 worshippers and injuring dozens. Boko Haram claimed responsibility, saying the attack was revenge for alleged Muslim casualties elsewhere. In February 2017, suspected Muslim extremists attacked and burned a Redeemed Christian Church of God parish in Dei-Dei. Five years later, in December 2022, police arrested two men for demolishing a church building in Kubwa. In January 2023, Pastor Emeka Unaegbu, General Overseer of Goodnews City Church, was found dead inside his church in Nyanya-Jikwoyi. Witnesses said he was attacked after leading an evening service. Religious mob killings have also reached the capital. In June 2022, a vigilante officer accused of blasphemy was beaten and burned alive in Lugbe, Abuja — an act that drew comparisons to similar lynchings in Kano and Sokoto.
5. Zamfara: Threats and Killings Without End
In Zamfara State, Christians have lived under constant threat. In December 2021, an anonymous letter sent to the police warned churches to shut down or face attacks and kidnappings of pastors and their families. Earlier, on August 25, 2016, eight students at Talata Mafara Polytechnic were killed and burned by fellow students following an argument over alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. That same month, suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked Atakwu community in Enugu State, killing a Catholic seminarian and several others — part of the same wave of coordinated violence spreading across northern and southern Nigeria.
6. Kogi State: Bloodshed in the Middle Belt
Kogi State has also suffered repeated assaults on Christian communities. On August 7, 2012, gunmen invaded the Deeper Life Bible Church in Otite during evening Bible study. They switched off the lights and opened fire in the dark, killing 19 worshippers, including the pastor. On December 8, 2017, Fulani herdsmen attacked Omala and Yagba West local government areas, killing about 10 Christians and setting farmlands ablaze. Between January 2 and 3, 2020, suspected Fulani militants stormed Tawari town, killing 29 Christians and burning homes, churches, and vehicles. Survivors described the attack as “a night of fire and screams.”
7. Nasarawa: Worship Turned to Mourning
Despite Nigeria’s constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, attacks targeting Christians continue to stain the nation’s conscience. From Nasarawa to Benue, Rivers to Lagos, brutal killings and abductions have left a trail of grief and unanswered questions. In April 2019, Fulani militants stormed a baby-dedication ceremony in Nasarawa State, killing 17 Christians, including children and pregnant women. Earlier, in January of an unspecified year, more than 200 Christians were reportedly killed and 500 wounded when armed herdsmen attacked Christian communities. On December 20, 2021, Fulani herdsmen terrorists launched coordinated raids on multiple Tiv villages, killing at least 52 people. The Tiv, who are predominantly Christian, were targeted in what many observers described as a religiously motivated assault. In March 2024, gunmen killed Pastor Kingsley Orshase and five other Christian farmers in Kadarko community, Keana Local Government Area. They were fishing by a river when the attackers struck.
8. Lagos: A City of Refuge?
Not Entirely Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, has largely escaped the wave of mass killings, but not without tragedy. In September 2017, gunmen invaded St. Thomas Catholic Church, Onilekere, Ikeja, shooting the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Daniel Nwankwo, leaving him injured moments after he concluded morning prayers. The attack shocked the city and underscored the nationwide reach of faith-based violence.
9. Rivers: Bloodshed and a Stampede
In 2014, gunmen opened fire on worshippers leaving a New Year’s Day church service in Omoku, Rivers State, killing at least 16 people. The World Council of Churches (WCC) later identified the assault as one of several faith-targeted attacks in southern Nigeria. On May 28, 2022, tragedy struck again in Port Harcourt when 31 people were crushed to death in a stampede during a church-organised food-relief event. The state also witnessed an attack on a worship centre affiliated with the father of the then-governor, when explosives were detonated along Azikiwe Street, Mile 3 Diobu, Port Harcourt.
10. Benue: The Food Basket Turned Battlefield
Benue State, once celebrated as Nigeria’s “Food Basket of the Nation,” has become one of the deadliest flashpoints of anti-Christian violence. In April 2016, Rev. Fr. John Adeyi, Vicar-General of the Otukpo Catholic Diocese, was kidnapped by suspected Fulani herdsmen along the Odoba–Otukpa–Okwungaga road. His decomposed body was discovered two months later — even after his abductors had collected N1.5 million ransom. In 2017, another priest, Rev. Fr. Cyriacus Onunkwo, was kidnapped and murdered in Imo State while preparing for his father’s burial. By January 2018, 80 victims of Fulani herdsmen attacks were buried in a mass grave in Benue. Then-Governor Samuel Ortom lamented that nearly 1,900 Christians had been killed within three years.
On April 24, 2018, two Catholic priests — Rev. Fr. Joseph Gor and Rev. Fr. Felix Tyolaha — and 17 parishioners were gunned down during morning Mass in Mbalom village. The genocide escalated further in 2023. In April, gunmen killed over 50 mourners at a burial in Umogidi village, Otukpo LGA. Two months later, coordinated raids claimed another 40 lives across Benue communities. According to Intersociety, a Nigerian human-rights group, 2,500 Christians were killed nationwide in the first half of that year alone. Between June 3 and 4, 2023, 46 Christians were massacred in a string of attacks on Imande Mbakange, Michihe, Achamegh, and Mbagene villages. On August 8, 2024, at least 50 Christians were killed in Ayati village, Ukum County, by Fulani militias.
The year 2025 brought even grimmer headlines. Between June 13 and 14, heavily armed herders invaded Yelwata, Guma County — a 97 percent Christian community — killing between 100 and 200 residents. Dozens of houses were burnt. “Every time we rebuild, they come back,” a local priest lamented. “Our people are dying because they are Christians who refuse to abandon their land.” In August 2025, another 50 Christians were slain in Ayati village, underscoring a pattern of systematic attacks on Christian farming communities.
11. Leah Sharibu: A Country’s Unanswered Prayer
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 11 to 19. 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 14-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 APC-led government nor the current administration has provided a clear account of her whereabouts. Is Leah dead, alive, or forcibly married to a jihadist fighter? The question continues to haunt the conscience of a nation — and a world still waiting for justice.
12. Murder Along the Highway
On July 12, 2019, tragedy struck along the Benin–Ore Expressway when Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, daughter of 93-year-old Pa Reuben Fasoranti — the national leader of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere — was murdered by suspected Fulani jihadist herdsmen. Eyewitnesses reported that Mrs. Olakunrin was travelling from Akure to Lagos in a black Toyota Land Cruiser when her convoy was ambushed near Kajola village around 2:00 p.m. by armed men who emerged from the bush and opened fire indiscriminately on vehicles. She was shot in the chest and rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The incident shocked the nation and intensified calls for the protection of Nigerian highways from terrorist incursions.
13. Adamawa State-Blood of Christians in their hands
Christian communities in Adamawa State have long decried what they describe as faith-based attacks targeting their homes and churches. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the pattern of violence appears aimed at discouraging the practice of Christianity in the region. On Christmas Day, militants of Boko Haram invaded the Kwapre community, killing two Christians, injuring others, and razing houses. Earlier, in 2017, four Christians and six police officers were killed when gunmen stormed the Christian settlement of Kwayine.
In December 2020, a series of coordinated attacks struck Christian communities in Garkida and Gombi, where homes and churches were burned and more than a dozen people abducted or killed. CAN in Adamawa condemned the violence as “an act of terrorism targeted at Christians.” On January 8, 2020, the killing of Reverend Lawan Andimi, chairman of CAN in Michika Local Government Area and a pastor of the Church of the Brethren (EYN), drew international outrage. He had been abducted by Boko Haram on January 2 after the insurgents attacked Michika.
In a video released by his captors, Andimi spoke calmly, expressing faith and forgiveness. Despite appeals, Nigerian authorities failed to rescue him. On January 20, 2020, Boko Haram released another video confirming his beheading. The Vatican, the United Nations, and the U.S. State Department all condemned the killing, describing it as a barbaric act of religious persecution. Rev. Andimi’s courage in captivity has since become a symbol of unyielding faith, echoing the resilience of Leah Sharibu, who remains in captivity for refusing to renounce Christianity.
14. Ekiti State-a protest to stop the killing of Christians
In February 2020, Christians in Ekiti State marched through Ado-Ekiti under the banner “Stop the Killing of Christians in Nigeria”, demanding an end to religious violence nationwide. Reports of alleged threats to churches surfaced in 2022, prompting local clerics in Oye and Ilupeju to publicly dismiss rumours of planned attacks. Still, the Catholic Church described 2022 as one of its darkest years: at least 39 Catholic priests were killed and 30 kidnapped across Nigeria. On January 14, 2023, Reverend Father Michael Olofinlade, a Catholic priest in Omu-Ekiti, Oye Local Government Area, was kidnapped by suspected Fulani militants, underlining the persistent insecurity that haunts the Nigerian clergy.
15. Sokoto State-The murder of Deborah On May 12, 2022
Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a second-year Christian student at Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was stoned and burned to death by a mob of fellow students for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Muhammad. Despite condemnation from the Sultan of Sokoto and public outrage, key instigators of the lynching remain unpunished. Following her death, violent riots erupted in Sokoto City. Mobs attacked Christian-owned shops and vandalized three churches — Holy Family Catholic Cathedral, St. Kevin’s Catholic Church, and an ECWA Church — burning vehicles and looting property. The episode remains one of Nigeria’s most shocking examples of religious intolerance in recent years.
16. Ondo State- Murder in the Cathedral
On June 5, 2022, Nigeria witnessed another tragedy when the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram splinter group, carried out a coordinated terrorist attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State. The attackers detonated explosives and opened fire on worshippers, killing about 50 people and injuring dozens more. Three years later, in mid-2025, only five suspects were arraigned in Abuja — and later released. No justice has been served for the victims.
17. Kaduna State-a beautiful State soaked in blood
The Christian genocide in Kaduna State — particularly in Southern Kaduna — has been described as a slow-burning genocide. Christian ethnic minorities such as the Adara, Atyap, and Bajju have endured relentless attacks from armed Fulani militias. On January 8, 2020, gunmen invaded the Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, kidnapping four seminarians. One of them, Michael Nnadi, was later killed. A surviving seminarian recalled the attackers shouting in Hausa: “Ja su waje, kafirai!” (“Drag them out, infidels!”). In August 2020, Reverend Adalchi Usman of ECWA Church was ambushed and killed in Kajuru Local Government Area. Over the same period, several Christian villagers — including a 16-year-old student, Ms. Takam
• Sonnie Ekwowusi is a legal practitioner and writer.
