Christian communities in Nigeria are facing an intensifying campaign of violence and persecution that survivors and experts are warning may amount to a religious genocide.

Hundreds of Christians remain in captivity amid escalating attacks from Fulani Islamist militants, with many alleging that Nigerian authorities have turned a blind eye to the crisis or even facilitated the violence through inaction and disarmament policies targeting Christian communities, as Breitbart reports.

Reports of kidnapping, torture, and mass displacement have been mounting since late 2024, particularly in the Rijana area of southern Nigeria, where victims say Fulani jihadists operate from villages acting as militant enclaves. These groups have repeatedly raided Christian villages, often forcing residents to flee into the wild for safety.

Survivors Say Militants Target Christianity

Open Doors, an international persecution watchdog, interviewed multiple survivors who detailed the horrors they endured in captivity. One woman recounted being raped by her captors, while another described how a terrorist attempted to choke her infant when its crying violated their order for silence. The terrorists forbade prayers and punished even whispers of faith.

“They did this to us because we are Christians,” said one survivor, who emphasized that she saw only Christians, not Muslims, held captive during her ordeal. Her experience of being released after an injury thought by her captors to be a bad omen illustrates how superstition sometimes dictates hostage outcomes.

Since December 2024, more than 850 Christians are reported to have been held hostage in makeshift camps throughout Rijana Forest—dubbed by advocates as the “Forest of Hostages.” Over 100 prisoners reportedly died between December 2024 and August 2025 due to executions, torture, and starvation after ransoms were not paid.

Experts Criticize Government and Military Complicity

Emeka Umeagbalasi, founder of the civil liberties group Intersocial, said the violence follows a “coordinated and systematic” plan to destroy Nigeria’s Christian population. Umeagbalasi, a criminologist, noted that life has become nearly unsustainable for Christians in Nigeria’s north and warned that if current dynamics continue, the nation’s religious diversity may vanish within 50 years.

He accused both current and past Nigerian administrations of allowing this violence to flourish. Former President Muhammadu Buhari, who served from 2015 to 2023, shared tribal ties with the Fulani militants and failed to curb the growth of Boko Haram and ISWAP. His successor, President Bola Tinubu, also a Muslim though from the Yoruba ethnicity, has since faced criticism for keeping Christian populations disarmed and vulnerable.

“How is it possible that over 850 Christians are held in camps just kilometers from military installations without any action being taken?” Umeagbalasi said in remarks to Catholic News Agency. He added that such “complicity is part of an expansive policy by the Nigerian government to Islamize the country.”

Christian Self-Defense Efforts Thwarted by State Forces

Dr. Bitrus Pogu, president of the Middle Belt Forum, an organization representing more than 45 million Christians in central Nigeria, shared further concerns about official response. According to him, when Christian youth attempt to defend their communities, the military intervenes to disarm and imprison them without proper legal proceedings.

“If our youths try to defend their communities,” Pogu said, “the military storms in, arrests them, confiscates their locally made pipe guns, tortures them, and hands them over to the police. The police, in turn, brutalize and detain them without due process.”

This trend has left many Christian communities defenseless amid ongoing militant raids. Villagers report being prevented from organizing security patrols, while militants operate freely through a network of villages and forest camps in the region.

International Inaction Fuels the Crisis

Human rights groups say the international community has largely ignored Nigeria's deepening crisis. Intersocial has identified at least 21 known terrorist encampments within Rijana Forest alone, just miles from active military locations that have taken little to no known action against the militants.

Umeagbalasi called out this global indifference, accusing world powers of neglecting mounting evidence of religious violence that meets the criteria of genocide. “No one dares to openly confess their faith. If you do, you risk being killed for ‘blasphemy,’” he said, citing firsthand accounts and community testimonies.

Fulani militants have also targeted government officials in some of their abduction efforts. Alhaji Alhassan Bawa Niworo, a former chairman of the Niger State Universal Basic Education Board, was among the recent kidnapping victims. He and several others were captured at a militant roadblock, which victims described as part of a broad regional infrastructure of violence and control.

Ongoing Concerns About the Future of Pluralism in Nigeria

As Christian villagers continue abandoning their homes, and others remain in hiding or in captivity, activists warn that a generation of Christian families in numerous parts of Nigeria may never return to their lands. Farming families who tried to return to their villages said they were met with immediate attacks, kidnapping, and sexual violence.

Alongside the trauma of these experiences is the frustration of watching Nigerian forces, who appear heavily equipped, stand idle as militants carry out attacks often mere kilometers away. Victims and rights groups have repeatedly pointed to the inaction of nearby troops during well-documented assaults on civilian populations.

The situation has evolved beyond isolated incidents into what survivors and advocacy groups call a systemic campaign. With ongoing reports of mass displacements, rising Christian casualties, and government inaction, many fear Nigeria's pluralistic identity may soon become obsolete.