FAQs: what’s happening in Nigeria?

Violence against Christians in Nigeria is in the headlines. What’s happening in Nigeria, who is responsible for the attacks, and how can we respond?

1. What is happening to Christians (and others) in Nigeria?

Several Islamist militant groups have built a major presence in the region, particularly in the predominantly Muslim north of the country. Among these are the infamous Boko Haram and the group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). ISWAP has ties with the same extremist groups and ideologies that drove so-called Islamic State (IS) to take over parts of Syria and Iraq ten years ago. Both groups have radicalised ideologies to build an Islamic state.

In recent years, lesser-known Islamist militant groups have also started operating and are pushing into new areas including into the south of Nigeria. Some of these are independent groups, some are connected to Al-Qaeda and other international violent Islamists movements.

In addition, Fulani militants have wreaked havoc in the Middle Belt or north-central – those states that border the northern Muslim states. The Middle Belt are predominately Christian states. Here the biggest threat comes from Fulani militants, responsible for 55% of recorded Christian deaths between 2019 and 2023.

All these groups have unleashed waves of violence across the area, with thousands killed every year and millions driven from their homes – often these people are living in horrific conditions in displacement camps, unable to return home.

2. Where is this happening?

This level of violence is not currently happening equally across all of Nigeria. The key regions are in the north east, north west, and north central parts of Nigeria. But, with increasing frequency, violence has in recent years spilled over into more southern, Christian-majority states.

3. Is this a ‘religious’ conflict?

Yes, but it’s not solely religious. There is a tangle of different factors at play. A significant factor is one of power and control. The extremists all want control, to rule over the land and the people. Another is poverty – if you have nothing, you are susceptible to radicalisation by Islamist groups. For the Fulani ethnic group, a real factor is scarcity of resources brought on by climate change, which has driven herding groups, such as the Fulani, further south, in search of fertile land for their cattle. This is compounded by Christians owning most of the farming land. However, elements of the Fulani tribe have been radicalised with violent Islamist ideology that ‘justifies’ subjugating Christians as ‘infidels’.

4. Are Christians being targeted?

This is hotly contested, not least by the Nigerian Government. However, the evidence and statistics show a clear pattern.

Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have explicitly and repeatedly declared Christians as targets. In a newsletter in October 2025, IS published a direct warning to African Christians, threatening death and expulsion if they refuse to convert to Islam – thus confirming their intent against Christians in Africa in general. And many victims have told us that when Fulani militants attack, they don’t just shout “Allahu Akbar”, they yell, “We will destroy all Christians.”

According to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, who painstakingly collect data on violence and deaths in the region, data of civilians killed (excluding deaths of military members and terrorists) in northern Nigeria is unequivocal: more Christians are killed by the extremists than Muslims, given the relative population size of Muslims and Christians in northern states. If you are a Christian, you are 6.5 times more likely to be killed than a Muslim and 5.1 times more likely to be abducted. This does not make the suffering of a Muslim less tragic; it just makes it less likely.

Making matters even more complicated, there is a serious problem with banditry and lawlessness in the north. Kidnapping is big business, funding Islamist expansion and tied to active terrorist groups, with more than 20,000 people abducted from 2019 to 2023. Many of these bandits have been known to target anyone who will pay a price – but they have learned that Christians, and specifically religious leaders, can fetch a higher ransom. This makes the Christians and religious leaders specifically vulnerable targets.

5. Is violence only happening in Nigeria?

No, radical Islamist violence is spreading across many nations in sub-Saharan Africa. Islamist militants and radicalised criminal gangs are exploiting existing conflicts, insecurities and poverty across sub-Saharan African nations such as Sudan and Eritrea in the east, Niger and Burkina Faso in the west, the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa and as far south as Mozambique. Again, there are numerous different agendas and motives. However, there is a common thread: extremist Islamist ideologies attempting to gain control of whole regions of Africa and persecuting Christians and others who do not adhere to their ideologies.

However, Nigeria is the epicentre of this violence, and if it goes unchecked there with millions more displaced from their homes, the implications for the rest of the continent are huge.

6. What do the victims say?

It’s vital to give those closest to the violence a voice, rather than just discuss statistics from a distance – those who have seen the terror first-hand tell of Fulani militants laying waste to their villages. As they are killing, raping and kidnapping they will often shout: “We will destroy all Christians.” Survivors tell us of the brutality of Boko Haram and ISWAP who have publicly and repeatedly said they would rid the nation of Christians and infidels. They tell us stories that, upon being kidnapped, their captors say things like, “If you were Muslim, you wouldn’t be tortured like this”, or that they could end it all ‘if they just proclaim to be a Muslim’.

7. Is it true the media have been ignoring this?

The scale of the violence and persecution is not a common headline in the global media. At the same time, it’s unlikely that the media have been deliberately ignoring the violence. And indeed, the topic finally appears to be gaining some traction in the secular media, as well as being regularly discussed in Christian media. However, many secular journalists have been quick to adopt the Nigerian Government’s messaging of the violence being non-religious. They will, for instance, describe Fulani militant attacks as ‘clashes’ between farmers and herders (rather than targeted attacks on defenceless Christian villagers with machine guns, AK-47s and grenades).

What is hard to dispute is that, for many years, tens of thousands have died at the hands of extremists – and that very few people are talking about it. This deserves attention.

8. Is the government arresting perpetrators of the violence?

The government has arrested and prosecuted some from Boko Haram and ISWAP, however the same vigour of prosecution is less present with the Fulani militants.

People on the ground do not trust that anyone will be held accountable for these violent crimes. This is because they have seen hundreds of suspects arrested over the years and then most of them released, having never been charged or brought to trial.

The right to life, guaranteed under Section 33 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, is meaningless unless the state acts decisively to punish those who violate it. The ongoing culture of impunity will only result in more bloodshed and continue to erode public trust in the rule of law.

9. What can we do?

It is time to break the silence over the slaughter occurring in Nigeria. Join Open Doors’ Arise Africa campaign and sign the petition that calls for security, justice and restitution for Christians and other vulnerable people across sub-Saharan Africa. In 2026, the petition will be delivered to the UK Government, EU, UN, Africa Union and other local governments.

Raise your voice and urge our government to:

• Increase humanitarian support to those affected by the violence
• Partner with the international community to investigate whether international crimes are being committed against Christians in Nigeria.

And of course, pray for the entire nation, that the Government will be able to protect its citizenry more effectively. Open Doors calls on the Nigerian Government to take immediate action to:

• Provide adequate and urgent humanitarian aid to communities affected by violence
• Put in place concrete action plans to ensure the safety and security of civilians
• Ensure justice by holding perpetrators to account.