New Horrors, Christian Persecution in Nigeria: Experts Sound Alarm

With persecution intensifying in Nigeria, many Christians are facing amplified social pressures. The latest example surrounds two government colleges. Sean Nelson, legal counsel for ADF International, warns of dangerous, anti-Christian bias on these campuses. "The situation in Nigeria, just generally, is a very, very difficult situation for Christians, in particular, especially in the northern part of the country," Nelson said. "Nigeria [is] the largest democracy in Africa ... It's roughly equally divided between Christians and Muslims, with the northern portion of the country being predominantly Muslim." It's in that region where many Christians become "marginalized" and face discrimination. Nelson and ADF International are now sounding the alarm over two universities — one federal and one state — that have reportedly barred Christian students from "being able to use any facilities for worship [or] fellowship." "The reason you know it's discrimination is that ... the Muslim students are completely allowed to use all of these facilities," he said. "They're preventing Christians from using those spaces, from worshipping on campus, having fellowship; they have to go off campus to do that. It's just plain discrimination." Nelson said such restrictions are a total violation of Nigeria's constitution, which protects freedom of religion and belief. But, as CBN News has extensively reported, Christians aren't only facing social pressure; some are facing violence and death, with officials failing to uphold such protections. "When you combine [the college issue] with some of the targeted killings that Christians are facing all across the north — there's been hundreds of kidnappings recently just the last couple weeks," Nelson said. "It's a really horrible situation for them." Nelson said the government in Nigeria isn't prosecuting people who commit such horrific crimes, citing the case of Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a Christian and a Shehu Shagari College of Education student in Sokoto, Nigeria, who was brutally murdered May 12, 2022. The violent attack was purportedly filmed and shared on social media, but Nelson said no one was truly held accountable.