Nigeria, one of the most dangerous place to be a Christian – ICC

International Christian Concern, an apolitical Christian organisation, has ranked Nigeria among the most perilous regions worldwide for Christians.

In the last two decades, extremists and militants have murdered Christians and evicted them from their territories, according to the organisation.

The organization’s 2023 report on Christian persecutors worldwide included this information.

According to the organisation, Nigerian leaders have attributed the attacks to violence between farmers and herdsmen that is tinged with ethnic strife.

The ICC report, on the other hand, characterised the murders and other atrocities as genocide against Christians.

A portion of the text stated, “Nigeria is currently the most perilous location globally for Christians.” A hostile coalition of Muslim extremists has attacked and obliterated the Christian minority in the north. For the past two decades, armed Islamic terrorists called Fulani militants have committed heinous atrocities against Christians and pillaged their land at an exponential rate throughout the Middle Belt.

As a result of land theft and widespread homicide, millions of Christians have been displaced. Since May 2011, Boko Haram has been exclusively attributed with over 38,000 fatalities. Leaders in Nigeria inform the West that this is a complex issue involving farmers and herdsmen with tribal overtones. In reality, however, Christians in the North and Middle Belt are being subjected to a genocide, which is being accompanied by a massive land seizure.”

In addition, the ICC report states that between March and July 2023, 549 Christians were murdered in 55 attacks in Nigeria.

“Whether or not the international community recognises the plight of Nigerian Christians, the nation has become a Christian cemetery,” the report continued.

The report noted that the application of Sharia law in twelve northern states has put non-Muslims in those states at risk.

The document stated, “The current implementation of Sharia law in Nigeria is in conflict with secular principles and poses a threat to non-Muslim religious communities residing in the northern and Middle Belt areas.” In spite of Nigeria’s recurrent assertions of being a secular nation, twelve northern states have incorporated Islamic Sharia criminal law, thereby denying Christians equal societal participation. Sharia is problematic in its application due to its inherently religious nature, especially when individuals are charged under criminal Sharia law.

The organisation demanded that the United States of America reinstate Nigeria to the list of nations where religious freedom has been flagrantly violated.

The document stated, “The Nigerian domestic security policy ensures that perpetrators are brought to justice and promptly responds to threats in order to address the needs of particularly vulnerable religious communities.”

“That Nigeria be reinstated to the list of Countries of Particular Concern, which it occupied in 2020 but was mysteriously removed from in 2021.” Annually since 2009, USCIRF has advised that Nigeria be designated as a country of Particular Concern.

“That U.S. foreign aid to Nigeria be contingent on significant progress in the area of religious freedom, including the revocation of Sharia courts’ jurisdiction over criminal matters and the repeal of blasphemy laws.”

The organisation also enumerates Azerbaijan, Eritrea, Algeria, North Korea, India, Iran, China, and Pakistan as countries that exhibit oppressive treatment towards Christians.