{"id":1790430,"date":"2026-02-24T17:33:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T14:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1790430"},"modified":"2026-02-24T17:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T14:33:58","slug":"is-there-really-a-religious-genocide-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1790430","title":{"rendered":"Is there really a religious ‘genocide’ in Nigeria?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/75835872_6.jpg”]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/59L0x<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Extremists slaughtered at least 162 people in the mostly Muslim villages of Woro (seen here the day after attack) and Nuku earlier this month in one of the deadliest attacks in recent monthsImage: Pelumi Salako\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

US lawmakers Wednesday\u00a0said in their findings<\/a> on the alleged persecution of Christians\u00a0in Nigeria that the West African country was the “deadliest” place in the world\u00a0to be a Christian.<\/p>\n

A report on the findings also said that Christians were “subject to ongoing violent attacks” from armed militias and terrorist groups.<\/p>\n

The report said\u00a0blasphemy laws in Nigeria’s northern states are used to silence speech and dissent, target Christians and minorities, and “justify\u00a0so-called ‘convictions’\u00a0without due process.”<\/p>\n

\n

Is there really a religious ‘genocide’ in Nigeria?<\/h2>\n

Nigeria faces complex security challenge: What to know<\/h2>\n

Nigeria faces a\u00a0complex security challenge<\/a> from many different armed groups\u00a0and thousands are killed annually.\u00a0But the victims are both Christians<\/a> and Muslims.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus, other attacks also occur\u00a0as part of conflicts between farmers and herders over dwindling resources like land. Other battles involve ransoms for kidnappings<\/a> and sectarian tensions.<\/p>\n

\"Burned
Extremists set fire to vehicles and homes during an attack on Woro, Kwara State, February 5Image: Musa Salim\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trump puts Nigeria on watchlist<\/h2>\n

President Donald Trump last year designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” due to alleged violations of religious freedom.\u00a0He said Christianity was facing an “existential threat” in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Nigeria, with a population of 237 million people, is roughly divided\u00a0between a Muslim-majority\u00a0north and a Christian-dominated south.<\/p>\n

Northern Nigeria has\u00a0remained affected by the decade-and-a-half-long<\/a> Islamist insurgency led by Boko Haram and affiliates of the “Islamic State” group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

US report on alleged persecutions of Christians in\u00a0Nigeria\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Congressman Riley M. Moore\u00a0and others from the\u00a0House Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Affairs\u00a0recommended establishing<\/a>\u00a0a US-Nigeria security agreement to protect Christians, withholding certain US funds also to the cause and repealing Sharia and blasphemy laws, among others.<\/p>\n

On Christmas Day, Trump followed through on a threat and ordered a deadly strike on “Islamic State” group affiliate Lakurawa, who he has accused of persecuting Christians.<\/p>\n

That strike was in coordination with the African nation’s government.<\/p>\n

The US has also sent troops to Nigeria<\/a>\u00a0to help advise its military on the fight against the insurgency.<\/p>\n

Edited by:\u00a0Saim Du\u0161an Inayatullah<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

\n

US lawmakers Wednesday\u00a0said in their findings<\/a> on the alleged persecution of Christians\u00a0in Nigeria that the West African country was the “deadliest” place in the world\u00a0to be a Christian.<\/p>\n

A report on the findings also said that Christians were “subject to ongoing violent attacks” from armed militias and terrorist groups.<\/p>\n

The report said\u00a0blasphemy laws in Nigeria’s northern states are used to silence speech and dissent, target Christians and minorities, and “justify\u00a0so-called ‘convictions’\u00a0without due process.”<\/p>\n

\n

Is there really a religious ‘genocide’ in Nigeria?<\/h2>\n

Nigeria faces complex security challenge: What to know<\/h2>\n

Nigeria faces a\u00a0complex security challenge<\/a> from many different armed groups\u00a0and thousands are killed annually.\u00a0But the victims are both Christians<\/a> and Muslims.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus, other attacks also occur\u00a0as part of conflicts between farmers and herders over dwindling resources like land. Other battles involve ransoms for kidnappings<\/a> and sectarian tensions.<\/p>\n

\"Burned
Extremists set fire to vehicles and homes during an attack on Woro, Kwara State, February 5Image: Musa Salim\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trump puts Nigeria on watchlist<\/h2>\n

President Donald Trump last year designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” due to alleged violations of religious freedom.\u00a0He said Christianity was facing an “existential threat” in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Nigeria, with a population of 237 million people, is roughly divided\u00a0between a Muslim-majority\u00a0north and a Christian-dominated south.<\/p>\n

Northern Nigeria has\u00a0remained affected by the decade-and-a-half-long<\/a> Islamist insurgency led by Boko Haram and affiliates of the “Islamic State” group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

US report on alleged persecutions of Christians in\u00a0Nigeria\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Congressman Riley M. Moore\u00a0and others from the\u00a0House Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Affairs\u00a0recommended establishing<\/a>\u00a0a US-Nigeria security agreement to protect Christians, withholding certain US funds also to the cause and repealing Sharia and blasphemy laws, among others.<\/p>\n

On Christmas Day, Trump followed through on a threat and ordered a deadly strike on “Islamic State” group affiliate Lakurawa, who he has accused of persecuting Christians.<\/p>\n

That strike was in coordination with the African nation’s government.<\/p>\n

The US has also sent troops to Nigeria<\/a>\u00a0to help advise its military on the fight against the insurgency.<\/p>\n

Edited by:\u00a0Saim Du\u0161an Inayatullah<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

US lawmakers Wednesday\u00a0said in their findings<\/a> on the alleged persecution of Christians\u00a0in Nigeria that the West African country was the “deadliest” place in the world\u00a0to be a Christian.<\/p>\n

A report on the findings also said that Christians were “subject to ongoing violent attacks” from armed militias and terrorist groups.<\/p>\n

The report said\u00a0blasphemy laws in Nigeria’s northern states are used to silence speech and dissent, target Christians and minorities, and “justify\u00a0so-called ‘convictions’\u00a0without due process.”<\/p>\n

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n

Nigeria faces a\u00a0complex security challenge<\/a> from many different armed groups\u00a0and thousands are killed annually.\u00a0But the victims are both Christians<\/a> and Muslims.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus, other attacks also occur\u00a0as part of conflicts between farmers and herders over dwindling resources like land. Other battles involve ransoms for kidnappings<\/a> and sectarian tensions.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump last year designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” due to alleged violations of religious freedom.\u00a0He said Christianity was facing an “existential threat” in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Nigeria, with a population of 237 million people, is roughly divided\u00a0between a Muslim-majority\u00a0north and a Christian-dominated south.<\/p>\n

Northern Nigeria has\u00a0remained affected by the decade-and-a-half-long<\/a> Islamist insurgency led by Boko Haram and affiliates of the “Islamic State” group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Congressman Riley M. Moore\u00a0and others from the\u00a0House Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Affairs\u00a0recommended establishing<\/a>\u00a0a US-Nigeria security agreement to protect Christians, withholding certain US funds also to the cause and repealing Sharia and blasphemy laws, among others.<\/p>\n

On Christmas Day, Trump followed through on a threat and ordered a deadly strike on “Islamic State” group affiliate Lakurawa, who he has accused of persecuting Christians.<\/p>\n

That strike was in coordination with the African nation’s government.<\/p>\n

The US has also sent troops to Nigeria<\/a>\u00a0to help advise its military on the fight against the insurgency.<\/p>\n

Edited by:\u00a0Saim Du\u0161an Inayatullah<\/em><\/p>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/us-designates-nigeria-as-deadliest-place-for-christians-nicki-minaj\/a-76107415″]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/75835872_6.jpg”] https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/59L0x Extremists slaughtered at least 162 people in the mostly Muslim villages of Woro (seen here the day after attack) and Nuku earlier this month in one of the deadliest attacks in recent monthsImage: Pelumi Salako\/AP Photo\/picture alliance US lawmakers Wednesday\u00a0said in their findings on the alleged persecution of Christians\u00a0in Nigeria that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,74],"class_list":["post-1790430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dw-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1790430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1790430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1790430\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1790430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1790430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1790430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}