Why Attacks on Christian Communities No Longer Look Like Isolated Violence

Nigeria is at the centre of global attention once again as insecurity and allegations of targeted killings and Christian genocide dominate major headlines. The West African country has been grappling with a perennial security crisis in the form of terrorism and banditry.

For well over a decade, terror groups, bandits, marauding Fulani ethnic militias and other splinter criminal gangs have been rampaging the Northern region. These groups, with roots in the North East, have sprouted up in the North West and North Central zones, and remnants continue to carry out occasional attacks in parts of the South West.

However, the socio-cultural composition of the affected communities has introduced a worrying pattern that experts argue is driving a 'one-sided' narrative.

For instance, the North East is predominantly Muslim, and the Fulani, often integrated with the Hausa as the "Hausa-Fulani," are a major ethnic group there. But it's also home to other Muslim groups and has a significant Christian minority.

Taraba and Adamawa states have a more even distribution of Christians and Muslims, while Gombe, Yobe, Borno, and Bauchi have an average Muslim population of over 80% according to the 2006 census.

The North West is also overwhelmingly Muslim and has Hausa and Fulani as the most prevalent ethnic groups. The census report shows that Muslims constitute approximately 90% to 98% of the population across its various states. The zone’s history of Islamic influence dates back to the 19th-century Fulani Jihad that led to the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Meanwhile, the North Central (also known as the Middle Belt) has a diverse religious landscape, as many analytical sources, including the Pew Research Centre and the U.S. Department of State, indicate a near 50/50 split between Christians and Muslims in the region.

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On the surface, Nigeria's cruel hand of insecurity spares no one regardless of religious or ethnic affinity, but the attackers often present an Islamic identity, and their appearance and language bear resemblance to people of Fulani extraction.

While this may not automatically translate to an ethno-religious motive, it makes it difficult to dispel claims of deliberate targeting of the people of a particular faith.

Though killings are widespread across ethnic and religious lines, genocide claims have become more tenable due to intensified attacks in Christian-dominated communities, particularly in the Middle Belt.

Recently, United States President Donald Trump amplified claims of Christian persecution when he redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). He also threatened to immediately stop all aid and assistance to the country if the government "continues to allow the killing of Christians."

The U.S. President didn't stop there. He followed up with a threat of military action in Nigeria, warning that his country "may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing’, to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities."

Trump's assertion may lack statistical credibility, but it echoes the concerns of many Nigerian Christians, and recent incidents appeared to have lent credence to the genocide narrative.

Two weeks ago, gunmen attacked a branch of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Kwara state and kidnapped an unconfirmed number of worshippers. Three days later, armed bandits also abducted more than 300 students and 12 teachers from the Catholic school of St. Mary’s in Niger State.

These attacks capped a week of similar kidnappings across the country, with both Christians and Muslims caught in the crossfire. In the early hours of Monday, November 17, 25 Muslim schoolgirls were abducted in an armed attack on a school in Kebbi, and another 64 people were kidnapped from their homes in Zamfara state, which borders Kebbi.

Trump's involvement followed an outcry by Nigerian Christian leaders, who felt the government had continually abdicated its responsibility to protect the vulnerable communities.

Though the allegation predates the administration of President Bola Tinubu, whose Muslim-Muslim Presidency had further deepened religious contestations, the genocide claim gained international attention earlier this year.

Addressing the U.S. House of Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa in March, Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, the Catholic Bishop of Markudi Diocese in Benue State, testified against the "atrocities perpetrated against Christians in Nigeria," the Middle Belt Region, and Benue State in particular.

Anagbe appealed to the U.S. to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC, noting that Islamist attacks against Christians have intensified in the country.

Barely a month later, suspected nomadic cattle herders carried out twin attacks in Benue, leaving at least 56 people dead. In June, gunmen launched a devastating assault on Christian villagers and killed about 200 people in what is now known as the Yelwata massacre.

These are not isolated incidents. In 2024 alone, over 200 people were killed in attacks on Ayati, Agatu, Anyiin and other communities in the state.

Dozens of Christians were also killed in and around Christmas time in Nigeria, especially in Benue State, where at least 47 people, including adults and children, were murdered.

Benue has, in recent years, been a flashpoint of attacks and killings, which are often linked to herders and militia groups with an expansionist agenda. Locals have alleged that the attackers usually occupy the villages once the original occupants have been violently forced out.

This pattern also replicates itself in Plateau, another North Central State, which has seen violent attacks.

However, states in the North West are also experiencing deadly attacks. In August, gunmen attacked a mosque in Katsina, leaving over 50 people dead.

In September 2023, seven worshippers were killed when a gang of armed men attacked a mosque in Kaduna. Also in the same state in March this year, gunmen attacked worshippers during Tahajjud prayers (night prayers) and killed one in the process.

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The latest report by Intersociety, an NGO that is globally respected for the accuracy of its data, estimated that at least 185,000 people (125,000 Christians and 60,000 nonviolent Muslims) have been killed on account of their faith in Nigeria between 2010 and October 10, 2025.

While attacks, mainly carried out by people with specific identities, have become recurrent in areas dominated by both faiths, the reported disproportionality in casualty figures has continued to fuel the genocide claim.

As killings and kidnappings reign across the nation, the government appears to lack the political will and institutional capacity to stop the menace. Oftentimes, perpetrators of these heinous crimes walk free, either because they go undetected or because they are not arrested or prosecuted.

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The public perception is that these criminals are untouchable because of political expediency and, in fact, that they enjoy institutional backing from security operatives. There have also been allegations that some influential people conspire with these rogue elements to sabotage the nation for selfish gains.

Successive governments have been accused of failing to treat the issue with the required seriousness. Presidents would often respond to citizens' outrage over attacks and killings with the same old narrative: deploy security operatives to the affected area and order the arrest of perpetrators.

But citizens can barely point to major arrests and/or prosecutions of these criminal elements, exposing the government and security operatives to allegations of culpability.

Whatever the case, one thing is clear: the government has failed in its responsibility to secure lives and properties. In addition to that, the institutional ineptitude has made it complicit in the genocide accusation regardless of the side making the claim.

"It ought to have done the groundwork in curbing insecurity in at least the areas where these talks about a Christian genocide are emanating from. However, it's poor security management in the North East and the Middle Belt that has exposed it to these allegations," a security analyst at SBM Intelligence noted.

The absence of proactivity and the consistent downplaying of security threats suggest either a lack of willingness at best or, at worst, a deliberate betrayal of citizens' trust.