We serve Christians around the world whose brave faith in Jesus means they are, beaten, threatened, imprisoned, tortured, falsely accused, disowned and hated.
Nigeria is generally split between an Islamic north and Christian south. The persecution facing Christians in Nigeria, especially in the north, is extreme and often brutally violent, coming from Islamic militants and armed bandits.
EVERY £8
Could provide a young person from Central Asia with a Bible in their own language
EVERY £26
Could provide trauma care for a victim of violent persecution
“By His grace we all joined our hearts, we are not going to denounce Christ. For us to live is Christ, but to die is gain.”
Amina, whose husband was killed by Boko Haram
Nigeria: QUICK FACTS
The persecution facing Christians in Nigeria is extreme and often brutally violent, coming from Islamic militants and armed bandits.
Nigeria is generally split between an Islamic north and Christian south.
Christians face pressure in the north as 12 states have adopted Islamic law and Christians face discrimination.
Violence by militant extremist groups is a key driver of persecution, whether that be from Boko Haram in the north east, or Fulani herdsmen in the middle belt.
Christian women and girls are vulnerable to abduction and forced marriage – there have been infamous kidnappings of hundreds of school children from schools in northern states.
NIGERIA: THE BASICS
The persecution facing Christians in Nigeria is extreme and often brutally violent, as Islamic militants and armed bandits attack with increasing impunity.
This mostly affects believers living in the Muslim-majority north and Middle Belt, but it’s also spreading to the south. Although all civilians are subject to threats and violence, Christians are often specifically targeted because of their faith. Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), for example, want to eliminate the presence of Christianity in Nigeria.
Men and boys are often specifically targeted by extremist groups, with the aim of destroying livelihoods and stifling Christian population growth. Christian women and girls in northern Nigeria, and increasingly further south, are vulnerable to persecution for their faith and gender.
Troublingly, discrimination against Christian men has also been reported within the government armed forces, with Christian soldiers sent to the most dangerous areas where they’re acutely at risk at being killed by Boko Haram or other extremist groups.
In northern states that operate under Sharia (Islamic law), Christians can be treated as second-class citizens, whilst Christians who convert from Islam are also at risk of pressure and persecution.
Nigeria: More details
Agnes’ story
“We were working in the fields of our farm when armed men approached us. They kidnapped three of us. They later killed my two friends. I am the only one living.” Agnes, a survivor of abduction by Boko Haram
Agnes was only a teenager when Boko Haram kidnapped her. Life in the camp was horrific. “They forced us to work hard for them,” Agnes remembers. “They kept pushing us to denounce Christ. I was given to a woman who was married to one of the fighters. In secret, the woman was still a Christian. She told me to fake it. That if these people forced me to denounce Christ, I should say yes, but deep down within me I should hold on to Christ.”
You might not blame Agnes if she had questioned where God was through her ordeal. But despite the horror, she found herself recalling over and over a song her father taught her and her siblings.
“When my siblings and I grew up, we were sometimes very worried that people would attack us,” she says. “At those moments, my dad sang this song to us: ‘God will never forsake us. God will never abandon us. Even when there is suffering and persecution, God will never leave us.’”
Agnes eventually escaped the camp after two years, but coming home was not easy. Thankfully, Open Doors partners have been supporting her with trauma counselling, and they are helping to end the stigma that surrounds young women who’ve suffered like Agnes.
Sele’s Story
In Nigeria, teenager Sele suffered the loss of his father in religious violence when he was just a toddler. But through the generosity of Open Doors supporters, he has been able to attend school.
How is Open Doors helping
Open Doors works through local church partners to strengthen Christians in Nigeria with discipleship and persecution survival training, trauma care, relief aid and economic empowerment projects.
PRAY NOW
Father God, the violence and brutality across Nigeria is unimaginable. Please intervene to stop these evil attacks and work in the hearts of the militants to turn them from hatred to Your love. Heal Your people who are traumatised by attacks. Give them fresh hope for the future and the means to support themselves financially and socially. Bring about change in the government to protect Christians, and help the president and state governors to work transparently to find lasting solutions to the deepening security crisis in Nigeria. Amen.
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North Korea is the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian. The leadership are viewed as divine, so those following Jesus pose a real threat to their ruling status. Those suspected of following Jesus will be arrested and interrogated. Up to 70,000 Christians are living in horrific labour camps.
LEVEL OF PERSECUTION:
Somalia
Hundreds (in a population of 16.8 million)
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Yemen
A few thousand
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LEVEL OF PERSECUTION:
Eritrea
1.7 million (47%)
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Libya
35,400 (0.5%)
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LEVEL OF PERSECUTION:
Pakistan
4.2 million (1.8%)
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LEVEL OF PERSECUTION:
Iran
1.2 million (under 1.4% of the population)
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LEVEL OF PERSECUTION:
Afghanistan
Thousands (in a population of 41 million)
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Sudan
2 million (4.3%)
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