The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) urged Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday to use the federal government to protect worshippers in the face of expected increased jihadist attacks during the Christmas season.
For over a decade, Nigeria has experienced widespread Islamist violence targeting Christians, largely committed by organized and heavily armed terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram and the Fulani “herdsmen” terrorists in the Middle Belt region. Under Tinubu’s presidency, Nigeria has experienced a surge in mass abductions targeting Christian schools and churches, as well as sweeps of entire Christian villages, displacing tens of thousands of people. Experts have consistently ranked Nigeria the deadliest place in the world to practice the Christian faith and described the violence as genocide.
Tinubu, like many of his predecessors, has denied that the violence is religiously motivated despite victims regularly noting that their attackers shout allahu akbar and systematically targeted Christian communities for extermination. The Tinubu government expressed outrage in November following President Donald Trump’s announcement he would designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious freedom in response to the genocidal attacks against Christians there. Reports have since accused Nigerian authorities of threatening the victims of jihadist attacks into silence to avoid international embarrassment.
The chairman of the northern wing of CAN, Rev. Dr. Yakubu Pam, noted in his statement on Thursday that many Nigerian Christians are choosing not to reunite with families during the holidays out of fear of jihadist attacks on the road home. This, he argued, was “unacceptable in a constitutional democracy where freedom of movement, worship, and association must be protected at all times.”
“Sadly, information available to Northern CAN reveals that a large number of Christians are considering staying back in their places of residence out of fear for their safety, as highways, rural communities, and even places of worship have become targets of violent attacks,” he asserted.
“The assurance of safety for all citizens, regardless of faith or ethnicity, is fundamental to national unity and social stability,” he added.
“The Yuletide season ushers in a period of spiritual reflection, peace, and goodwill across the world as the world celebrates this occasion,” the statement continued, “I wish to call on President Bola Tinubu, governors of the Northern states and the FCT minister to take urgent, visible, and decisive steps to guarantee the safety of lives and property during the celebrations and beyond.”
The statement followed the news of the latest terrorist attack on a church, reported on Wednesday in Kogi, a Middle Belt state. Unspecified “gunmen” abducted at least 13 people out of a church service and opened fire at the church, resulting in at least four attacker killed. Similar attacks and abductions of Christians have become a daily occurrence in the country.
“Across Nigeria in recent years, on average there have been 8 violent attacks per day,” Ryan Brown, the CEO of the human rights group Open Doors, told Breitbart News in November. “The Middle Belt, particularly Benue and Plateau state, continues to experience frequent deadly attacks.”
“The evidence of targeted violence against Christians in Nigeria is well-documented,” he explained. “In October, the Islamist group connected with ISIS sent a clear message about their intention to target Christians in Africa declaring they must convert or die. Last year alone, 3,100 of the 4,476 Christians killed worldwide for their faith were in Nigeria. Nigeria also leads globally in Christians abducted for faith reasons.”
Among the largest to occur this year was the mass abduction at the Saint Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger state, that resulted in the abduction of hundreds of Christians. The Nigerian newspaper Premium Times published an article Thursday revealing that its investigations found the area around the school to have become a hotbed of jihadist activity, leaving Christians vulnerable.
“What we discovered was that two jihadist groups have established themselves in the area; both operating out of the now-abandoned Kainji Lake National Park, which borders a string of isolated villages around Papiri,” the Premium Times reported. “The security forces seem unable to identify the security threats, much less contain them.”
The newspaper did identify the jihadist groups as two Boko Haram offshoots known as “Ansaru” and “Sadiku.”
President Donald Trump announced on October 31 that he would designate Nigeria a CPC for religious freedom and urged Tinubu to act to protect the Christian population. If he did not, Trump later suggested, U.S. forces could go “guns-a-blazing” into the country.
Tinubu responded by denying that a Christian genocide, or any discrimination at all, existed in Nigeria.
“The characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” Tinubu said in a statement the day after Trump revealed the CPC designation, “nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.”
Less than a month later, Tinubu declared a state of emergency over the jihadist attacks and fired his defense minister.
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