International Christian Concern, a nonpartisan Christian organization, states that Nigeria is among the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians and that non-Muslim populations are endangered by the application of sharia law in the northern state.
According to the organization, radicals and militants have been killing Christians in the country and driving them from their homes for the past 20 years.
This data was included in the organization’s 2023 report on Christian persecutors worldwide.
The group claims that attacks have been connected by politicians in Nigeria to conflicts between farmers and herders that are intertwined with ethnic conflicts.
However, the ICC’s findings described the killings and other offenses as genocide against Christians.
It partly read, “Nigeria is arguably the most dangerous place to be a Christian in the world today. In the North, a very hostile group of Muslim extremists have attacked and devastated the minority population of Christians. In the Middle Belt, armed Islamic terrorists, known as Fulani militants, have been killing Christians and stealing their land at a prodigious rate for the last 20 years.
“Between mass murder and land stealing, millions of Christians have been displaced. Since May 2011, Boko Haram alone has been recorded as being responsible for more than 38,000 deaths. Nigerian leaders tell the West that this is a complicated problem between herders and farmers with tribal overlays. But the truth is that we are witnessing a genocide of Christians in the North and Middle Belt, accompanied by an immense land grab.”
No fewer than 549 Christians lost their lives in 55 attacks in Nigeria between March and July of 2023, according to the ICC report.
“Whether the world acknowledges the plight of Nigerian Christians or not, the country has become a burial ground for Christians, ” the report added
The study pointed out that non-Muslims in 12 northern states have been put in risk by Sharia law.
It said, “Sharia law, as applied today in Nigeria, violates the principles of secularism and endangers non-Muslim religious communities in the northern and Middle Belt regions. Despite repeatedly claiming to be a secular nation, 12 northern states in Nigeria have adopted Islamic Sharia criminal law, meaning that Christians do not participate as equal members of society. Given its inherently religious nature, Sharia is problematic when applied particularly when they are charged under criminal Sharia law. ”
The group urged the US to re-add Nigeria to its list of nations where there are flagrant abuses of religious liberty.
It stated, “Nigerian domestic security policy addresses the needs of particularly vulnerable religious communities by responding to threats quickly and ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice.
“That Nigeria be added back to the Countries of Particular Concern list designation it held in 2020 before inexplicably being removed in 2021. USCIRF has recommended that Nigeria be listed as a country of Particular Concern every year since 2009.
“That U.S. foreign aid in Nigeria be conditioned on substantial Improvement around religious freedom, including the repeal of blasphemy laws and rescinding Sharia courts’ authority over criminal matters.”
The group also identified other nations that abuse Christians, including North Korea, India, Iran, China, Pakistan, Eritrea, Algeria, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan.