05/14/2022 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – At least 896 civilians have been killed in violent attacks in Nigeria during the first three months of 2022. This, according to Open Doors, includes hundreds of Christians who were murdered because of their faith.
Open Doors is a non-denominational organization supporting persecuted Christians in the world.
Open Doors cited a report by SBM Intelligence, a Nigeria-based research firm, for the reported killings in the West African country. The attacks are blamed on Islamist extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), militant Fulani herdsmen, bandits and violent gangs.
Open Doors reported that there were increasing signs that these groups were working together and widening the impact of their violence. The organization alleged more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined.
“Nigeria is currently one of the scariest places to be a Christian,” said Illia Djadi, an Open Doors analyst for sub-Saharan Africa.
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with over 200 million people, and is divided roughly in half between Muslims, who live mostly in the north, and Christians, who live mostly in the south.
Last year, Nigeria earned the distinction of being the country with the world’s worst persecution in ICC’s Persecutor of the Year Awards.
“Christian communities in the Middle Belt of Nigeria have effectively suffered a twenty-yearlong genocide,” said ICC President Jeff King. “Where is any action? The Nigerian government gives these attacks lip service without any meaningful response. “Where is the outcry? Where is effective action? In Nigeria, the military, the police, and the intelligence agencies are all controlled by Muslims. This, coupled with a twenty-year lack of response by these agencies, should naturally lead to deeper questioning by the world community.
Simply put, the time for cheap talk and platitudes is over. The world is waking up and asking, “Is the Nigerian government complicit in these attacks. Time will tell, but for this long-time watcher, the decision is in.
