By Andrew Haruna | Abuja | Nigeria | Nigeria News Today
The Bureau News reports that Christians in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa are facing an unprecedented wave of violent attacks from Islamic State-linked militants, with global human rights organizations warning that the crisis could destabilize the region.
Last week, the White House and the U.S. State Department vowed to work closely on strategies to stop the killings after the United Nations confirmed that 49 Christians were hacked to death on July 27 while attending prayers in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Authorities blamed the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist militant group affiliated with Islamic State DRC.
In Nigeria, the violence has been equally devastating. On July 14, 27 Christians were killed in Bindi Ta-hoss village, Plateau State, by suspected Fulani militants. Survivors described harrowing scenes. “I advised my family to seek refuge in the church… I lost my wife and second daughter in the attack; they were burned alive,” said eyewitness Solomon Sunday.
Local youth leader D’Young Mangut, who helped recover bodies, told The Bureau News, “People are being killed like chickens, and nothing is being done.”
“It is part of a longstanding process of violent Islamization,”
— John Eibner, President of Christian Solidarity International
Heartbroken Villagers bury their dead following the murder of 49 Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo by ISIS-linked jihadists. (Open Doors ) – Nigeria News Today
A Widening Crisis in Nigeria and Beyond
Christian Solidarity International estimates that over 165 Christians have been killed in Plateau State alone in the past four months. Similar massacres have been reported in Mozambique and Congo, signaling a regional crisis.
The Open Doors charity warns that jihadist violence has killed 150,000 people across sub-Saharan Africa in the past decade, displacing over 16 million Christians from their homes and farmland. “The crisis is potentially existential for the future peace and stability of several nations in the region,” said Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors U.K. and Ireland.
In Nigeria, Islamic State West Africa, Boko Haram, and Fulani militant groups have been accused of working to forcibly Islamize the country. Bishop Wilfred Anagbe told The Bureau News that the violence is increasingly carried out “with the backing of officials who fail to hold perpetrators accountable.”
Caskets of victims killed by Islamists in Bindi, Nigeria. (Christian Solidarity International (CSI)) – Nigeria News Today
Calls for Urgent Action
Human rights lawyer Jabez Musa says over 64 communities in Plateau State have been seized by militants. “Only Christians are targeted, they’re killed, displaced, and their lands are taken over,” he said.
Open Doors and other advocacy groups are calling on African governments to ensure justice, restoration, and protection for affected communities.
For many survivors, patience is wearing thin. “We are tired of condolences and statements. What we need is real security, not sympathy,” one grieving Nigerian relative told The Bureau News.
