ACLJ Delivers Urgent Intervention to U.N. Human Rights Council for Nigerian Christians

In America, we are blessed to be able to express our faith freely without fear of retribution. In Nigeria, it could cost you your life.

The ACLJ is taking direct action at the United Nations to demand global action to defend these dying Christians.

Nigeria has become the epicenter of anti-Christian violence in Africa. Extremist groups such as Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa Province, and armed Fulani militants have repeatedly targeted Christian villages, churches, and clergy. Entire communities have been wiped out in coordinated attacks. In recent years alone, thousands of Nigerian Christians have been killed and many more displaced from their homes.

Last year, President Trump announced that Nigeria would once again be named a Country of Particular Concern and urged Congressman Riley Moore (WV-2) to take the lead on this critical human rights issue. Congressman Moore introduced a new resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives condemning the systematic slaughter of Christians.

Less than a year later, a Christian organization called the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) declared a national day of mourning due to the atrocities. Nigerian Christians are clearly terrified, and they’re right to be. They need protection. Their persecutors must be hunted down and brought to justice. But despite empty words, the Nigerian government has failed time and time again to protect its innocent Christians.

Take action with us. Sign our petition: Stop the Genocide of Christians in Nigeria.

Recently, I presented an oral intervention at the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) demanding action to protect Nigeria’s endangered Christians.

As I told the international body:

Millions of people in Nigeria remain in urgent need of protection and assistance as horrific violence continues to devastate Christian communities across the country. Attacks by jihadist groups have resulted in widespread killings, the destruction of entire villages, and the mass displacement of civilians who are targeted because of their faith. Nigeria has a clear responsibility to safeguard and prevent targeted violence against its citizens.

Yet many Christian communities continue to face daily threats, with individuals slaughtered, villages demolished, families forced to flee their homes, and survivors left without access to shelter, education, or basic services. Many of these attacks happen while security forces are nearby, and yet they do not intervene. Therefore, we urge Nigeria to take immediate and effective action to halt these attacks, hold perpetrators accountable, and ensure that displaced individuals can safely return home. . . .

We call on this council and relevant U.N. mechanisms to intensify monitoring, reporting, and engagement with Nigeria to ensure that the rights of vulnerable religious communities are fully protected.

These aren’t just one-off incidents. The brutal targeting and assaults on Christians are happening on a regular basis. Christian homes and churches have been burnt to the ground. Christians have been attacked, beheaded, burned alive, or sold into slavery in Nigeria simply because of their faith. The Nigerian government must take action to stop these atrocities and protect Christians. But it seems they will never do anything unless they feel maximum pressure from the U.N.

Just weeks after the ACLJ addressed the HRC, 31 more Christians were massacred – including 11 children and a minister. Gunmen reportedly opened fire on people inside their homes and set several houses ablaze as families fled into nearby fields.

Security personnel, reportedly only five miles away from the killings, didn’t reach the village until hours after the Islamic radicals left – only raising more questions. The Nigerian government and authorities continue to show nothing but apathy toward the violence against its own Christian people.

 The Christian persecution happening in Nigeria is extremely disconcerting. The massacres and displacement just continue, despite the attention and concern of the world. Nigeria cannot continue to ignore and shift blame to tribal or land disputes. This is clearly a targeted attack on Christians and must be stopped. No one should be fooled into believing it is anything else!

That is why we are waging our most aggressive campaign yet to defend our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters at the U.N. and demand international intervention. We need the international community to hold Nigeria accountable and defend these Christians. Countless innocent lives are hanging in the balance.

Our critical work to defend dying Christians must continue until all hostages are free and dangerous jihadists are brought to justice. All children deserve to go to school without fearing for their lives. And all believers in Nigeria and beyond need to be free to worship and pray without the threat of violence.