Numerous armed attacks in Nigeria have led to accusations of “Christian genocide”, but these claims lack state-led evidence. Social media influencers, public figures and local and international faith-based organisations are amplifying claims of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria. They point to the wave of attacks on churches and Christian communities across the central and northern parts of the country.
The Nigerian government denies the claims. Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris admits that Nigeria has security problems, but the claims of a “deliberate, systematic attack on Christians is inaccurate and harmful”.
Religion distribution in Nigeria. Source: BBC
The Complexity of Violence in Nigeria
Nigeria’s violence stems from complex issues, including land disputes, poverty, and governance failures, not solely religion. Analysts and survivors say the violence cut across faiths and that it is driven as much by land disputes, climate change, poverty and weak governance as by religion itself. The “genocide” narrative risks escalating interfaith mistrust, hindering peacebuilding and evidence-based international assistance.
Friar Atta Barkindo, Executive Director of the Abuja-based Kukah Centre, believes the “Christian genocide” narrative stems from the inability of the government to protect its citizens. “What has been happening in Nigeria, and I don’t want the debate to overshadow this, is a matter of mindset,” Barkindo told DW. “These things are very historical. In my opinion, I don’t think there is a deliberate intention on the part of the Nigerian government to kill Christians or to deploy state actors to do so. I don’t think that’s really the case. I believe what people are trying to express is the government’s failure to protect its citizens and when the majority of those killed or targeted happen to be Christians, it naturally fuels that perception.”
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The Voices of Survivors
On a quiet Sunday evening in May, Comfort Isfanus was stirring a pot of dinner in her small kitchen in the Bokkos area of Plateau state when she heard hurried footsteps outside. Her husband, Danladi, ran into their compound, panting and covered in dust. He had just heard that armed men were approaching their community. He grabbed her hand and told her to gather the children to safety, she told DW. “After we ran away, he remained at home together with his younger brother. They [armed men] met them at home and killed them. Our houses were burnt down and now we are suffering with no food and no shelter for our children. Now they don’t have [anything] to eat, no school, no business, nothing.”
Karimatu Aminu lost her husband in the crisis too. It was a Thursday morning in late December when she was seeing him off to the farm. He had asked her to stop by the local market and buy a few things for the evening. That, she told DW, was the last time she saw him alive. “This isn’t just about one group... When Fulani houses are burnt today, tomorrow the houses of the Christian community are burnt too. Both sides are losing people and homes,” Aminu said.
Christian-Muslim Mistrust and Historical Context
For many communities in the region, the violence goes beyond the tit-for-tat killings between herders and farmers, but is part of a campaign to drive them away from their land - relics of their mistrust of ethnic Fulani pastoral groups which dates back to the infamous Islamic jihad that swept across northern and central Nigeria and disrupted local structures and political systems.
Analysts say the deep-rooted history continues to shape modern conflict in the region as many groups - who were never fully conquered then - interpret today’s crisis not just as merely a dispute over land or resources, but as a continuation of that historical aggression, fuelling Christian-Muslim mistrust. In June, the traditional leader of the ethnic Tiv in Benue state, James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse, dismissed the farmer-herders narrative. “What we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits.” he said.
A Necessary Conversation?
Samuel Malik, a senior researcher at the pan-African Good Governance Africa think tank, believes that some of the violence, particularly in parts of northcentral Nigeria, may have religious undertones. But “there is no credible evidence of a state-led or coordinated campaign to exterminate Christians, which is what genocide is,” Malik told DW. Insecurity in Nigeria, he said, is instead rooted in a complex mix of “governance failures, corruption, poverty, climate-induced livelihood pressures, insurgency and organized criminality, and describing it as a genocide oversimplifies these dynamics”.
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Narratives such as the so-called “Christian genocide” claim obscure the overlapping drivers of conflicts in the country and could undermine interfaith and community-level peacebuilding efforts. “The ‘genocide’ narrative, largely promoted by certain Western advocacy and religious groups, has significant implications. It is a case of giving a dog a bad name to hang it,” Malik told DW. It “pressures foreign governments, especially the United States, to adopt punitive and moralistic positions toward Nigeria rather than pursuing constructive, evidence-based engagement”, he said. “Furthermore, it damages the Nigerian government’s international reputation by portraying it as complicit in religious persecution, making it difficult or impossible to get the support it requires to deal with the problem of insecurity.”
Barkindo agrees that the narrative can deepen divisions and mistrust. It can also help to create awareness about the violence, he says: “It’s raising questions beyond just the claim of genocide.
US Involvement and Diplomatic Tensions
In one instance, US senator Ted Cruz said on social media platform X that Nigerian officials are ignoring and enabling “the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists”. Cruz even introduced a bill aimed at sanctioning Nigeria for the persecution of Christians.
The Nigerian government on Wednesday rejected the United States’ designation of Nigeria as “a country of particular concern” due to alleged violations of religious freedom, claiming that the designation was based on misinformation and inaccurate data. On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced his decision to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern due to the killing of Christians by radical Islamists. This State Department classification is reserved for countries that violate religious freedom. Later in the weekend, Trump said he had asked the Department of Defence to prepare for potential “fast” military action if Nigeria did not crack down on the killing of Christians. His rhetoric has put a strain on the two countries’ diplomatic relationship.
“Recent external claims suggesting systemic religious persecution in Nigeria are unfounded,” said Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Dunoma Umar Ahmed, addressing foreign diplomats at a briefing in the capital city of Abuja on Wednesday. “The state continues to wage a comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign against groups that target Nigerians of all faiths,” Ahmed said, adding that US rhetoric had been “disparaging” and that “dialogue and cooperation” should “remain the standard in engagement between and among sovereign states”.
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While visiting Berlin on Tuesday, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar defended his country’s commitment to protecting religious freedom, refuting Trump’s claims of religious intolerance in Nigeria. Meanwhile, Information Minister Mohammed Idris said at a press briefing that Trump’s threats of military action were unwarranted and misrepresented Nigeria’s complex security challenges. “Any narrative suggesting that the Nigerian state is failing to take action against religious attacks is based on misinformation or faulty data,” Idris said.
He also said that since taking office in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu’s government has made significant progress in tackling terrorism. “The government of Nigeria remains open and willing to work closely with the government of the United States, other friendly nations and partners, to achieve our shared goal, the complete elimination of terrorism on Nigerian soil,” Idris said. He stressed that terrorism affects both Christians and Muslims, adding that the Nigerian government is committed to ending extremist violence through military action, regional cooperation, and dialogue with international partners.
Islamist Insurgency and Banditry
According to UN estimates, the long-running jihadist insurgency in northeastern Nigeria, led by Boko Haram and Islamic State-affiliated militants, has left more than 40 000 people dead and displaced approximately two million. In addition to the jihadist insurgency, Nigeria is also facing “bandit” gangs in the northwest that carry out kidnappings, raid villages, and commit murders.
Nigeria is home to more than 200 ethnic groups that largely practice Christianity or Islam, with some also following traditional religions. While the country has a history of coexistence, it has also experienced sporadic violence driven by ethnic tensions and competition over scarce resources. Ongoing violence continues to plague central Nigeria, pitting Fulani Muslim herders against predominantly Christian farmers.
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is hoping to meet with US President Donald Trump, following Trump’s social media threat to send the military to Nigeria in response to perceived threats against Christians by jihadists. Nigeria denies disproportionate targeting of Christians by jihadists and stresses that such characterisations do not align with the reality on the ground, which involves complex conflicts affecting various communities.
US President Donald Trump has repeated his threat of a military operation in Nigeria over the killings of Christians. As claims of Christian “persecution” in Africa’s most populous country have found traction online among the US and European right, experts say Nigeria’s myriad conflicts kill both Christians and Muslims without distinction.
In an explosive post on his Truth Social platform Saturday, Trump said that he asked the Pentagon to map out a possible plan of attack in Nigeria, one day after warning that Christianity was “facing an existential threat” in the West African nation. In his post, Trump said that if Nigeria does not stem the killings, the United States will attack and “it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians.”
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesperson, Daniel Bwala, told AFP on Sunday that “Nigeria is the US’s partner in the global fight against terrorism. When leaders meet, there would be better outcomes.” “Nigeria welcomes US support to fight terrorism as long as it respects our territorial integrity,” he said.
“We know that Donald Trump has his own style of communication,” he said, suggesting the post was a way to “force a sit-down between the two leaders so they can iron out a common front to fight their insecurity.” Earlier, Bwala had suggested in a post on X that the two leaders could meet soon.
Trump posted on Friday, without evidence, that “thousands of Christians are being killed (and) Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
“Christians are being killed, we can’t deny the fact that Muslims are (also) being killed,” Danjuma Dickson Auta, 56, a Christian and community leader in Nigeria’s Plateau state, said. Speaking from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state - the epicentre of Islamist militancy in Nigeria - Abubakar Gamandi, a Muslim who heads a fishermen’s union, told AFP that “even those who sold this narrative of Christian genocide know it is not true”. Jihadists “kill both Muslims and Christians. They have killed far more Muslims than Christians because 95% of the population of the areas” targeted by the militants in the state are Muslim-dominated, he told AFP.
Key Figures in Nigerian Conflicts (First Half of 2025)
| Category | Number of Deaths |
|---|---|
| Killed by bandits or insurgents | 2,266 |
Boko Haram Resurgence
Boko Haram renews offensive in Nigeria as Niger exits multinational security task force, making borders more vulnerable. Increased insurgent attacks exploit unchecked borders, displacing millions and worsening civilian and military vulnerabilities. Analysts urge multinational cooperation, cross-border security, and counter-terrorism strategies to curb Boko Haram’s resurgence.
A recent report by the South Africa-based non-profit Good Governance Africa indicates there is enough evidence to show that Boko Haram militants have renewed their offensive in Nigeria after years of relative decline. According to Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, at least 2 266 people were killed by bandits or insurgents in Nigeria during the first half of 2025 - surpassing the total number of such deaths in all of 2024.
“We’re seeing nighttime raids, not just against civilians but also against the military. Not just to prevent reinforcement,” Malik Samuel, a senior researcher with Good Governance Africa, told DW. “This shows the tactical approach is being used. We are seeing attacks and abductions on highways and farmlands.” In a recent attack in Darul Jamal in northeastern Nigeria at least 60 people were killed.
Regional leaders meet to find cause, solutions to Boko Haram
What’s behind Boko Haram’s resurgence?
In March 2025, Niger announced its withdrawal from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which is mandated to secure the borders in the Lake Chad region. When Niger pulled out this year, it cited the need to focus on safeguarding its homeland, particularly its oil and uranium assets.
Analysts believe that Niger’s decision to pull out of the MNJTF has made the shared border between Nigeria and Niger porous, allowing insurgents to ramp up their ammunition and increase their attacks. “Logistics and planning have become easier for Boko Haram in terms of smuggling arms and ammunitions into their territory,” Regional Organised Crime Observatory Coordinator for Central Africa at the Senegal-based Institute for Security Studies Oluwole Ojewale told DW.
In addition, some experts believe there is significant competition for the military resources that were once concentrated in Nigeria’s northeast region, due to other security challenges, including clashes between farmers and herders, kidnappings and robbery. “That is making the communities become more vulnerable to Boko Haram attacks,” Ojewale said.
UN reports indicate that more than 40 000 people have been killed and at least two million people have been displaced since the crisis began some 15 years ago.
Nigeria’s counterterrorism strategy
Over the years, the Nigerian military has deployed multi-pronged strategies to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency. Recent attempts have included targeted airstrikes, border monitoring and community engagements. Nigeria’s military spokesperson, Brigadier General Tukur Gasau, told DW that the security situation in the northeast was currently very stable. “The large part of those terrorists has been decimated. They lack the capacity to occupy a place the way they did before,” he said, adding that in places such as Borno State, which was once the epicentre, schools had reopened. “Markets are on, businesses are on, the roads that used to be unmotorable due to the activities of terrorists are now open, people move freely.”
However, one resident who chose to remain anonymous told DW that the situation on the ground was different. “People are scared, you can feel the tension, you can feel the threat, people are being attacked, you cannot drive at night, if you’re sleeping your eyes are open, so the government needs to do more.”
“We have seen some successes of the Nigerian government against Boko Haram. But we have also seen significant comebacks that greatly undermine the state, like we’re currently seeing,” said Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar, Executive Director of the West Africa Centre for Counter Extremism (WACCE). “At the moment there is no sign that indicates the state is in full control or that the Boko Haram insurgency will end soon,” he added.
Collaboration key to dismantling Boko Haram
Malik Samuel suggested that the government needed to enhance collaboration with both state and non-state actors to tackle the security challenge. “If the state is implementing a response, religious leaders should be carried along,” he told DW, noting that the Boko Haram conflict was backed by ideology. “When you have religious leaders coming out with alternative narratives to try and educate the people, it is a good step.” He also said that it was important that the Nigerian state be more present in villages that have been hit by the insurgency. For his part, Ojewale advocated for cross-border security and multinational cooperation.
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