Again, Nigeria made the first 50 countries of the world where it is difficult to practice Christianity, according to a report released in the United States on January 13.
Nigeria ranked 9th position among the nations where Christians are most persecuted in the world, moving from 12th position it occupied last year, according to the report by Open Doors, a Christian watchdog organisation.
As in the past, North Korea retained its number one position for the 20th unbroken time, followed by Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Yemen and Iran, in that order.
Open Doors listed the other countries as India, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Egypt, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Mauritania, Uzbekistan, Laos, Turkmenistan, Algeria, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Mali, Qatar, Colombia, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Tajikistan, Nepal and Central African Republic.
Ethiopia, Mexico, Jordan, Brunei, Congo DR (DRC), Kazakhstan, Cameroon, Bhutan, Oman, Mozambique, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Kenya and Comoros also made the list.
Open Doors said persecution persisted in 2020 despite the outbreak of Coronavirus and the resultant lockdown in many countries.
The 2021 watch list covered the period between November 1, 2019 and October 31, 2020.
It looked at the restriction on the practice of the Christian faith in areas like private life, family life, community life, national life, church life and violence.
According to Open Doors, over 340 million Christians across the world suffer high level of persecution and discrimination for their belief, showing an increase of about 30 million.
It said 309 million out of the 340 million are living in the 50 countries.
The group also said in 2020, a total of 4,761 Christians were killed for their faith, rising from 2,983 cases in 2019. This shows an increase of 60 per cent.
It said most of the killings occurred in Africa, which recorded 91 per cent of the cases while 8 per cent took place in Asia.
Open Doors explained that violence in sub-Saharan Africa increased by 30 per cent because of Islamic militant groups who claimed the breakout of the Coronavirus was punishment from Allah because of “infidels.”
In Nigeria, for instance, the group said a total of 3,800 Christians were killed by the Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram terrorists and its breakaway faction, Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP).
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It said the sects took advantage of the lockdown and the weakened governments during the pandemic to advance their cause.
It added that armed Fulani herdsmen carried out “scorched earth” strategy in attacking their victims.
It said the herdsmen ransacked or occupied villages dominated by Christians and destroyed their crops.
The Christian watchdog group, in the report, said the COVID-19 “made persecution more obvious than ever before simply because so many people needed help.”
It added that “the clear discrimination and oppression suffered by Christians in 2020 must not be forgotten, even after the COVID-19 crisis fades into our collective memory.”
Throwing more light on the report, the President and CEO of Open Doors USA, David Curry, said, “The COVID-19 has turned a bad situation into an unbearable one. This public health crisis created an opportunity to expand faith-based discrimination and violence in regions where religious persecution had already reached alarming rates.”
Curry also said, “We have definitely seen that both extremists and governments are taking advantage of or using this opportunity to justify an increase in persecution.”
“It has been a tough year for billions of people. However, for many of the 340 million Christians worldwide who faced persecution and discrimination, things have been worse,” the CEO of Open Door UK and Ireland, Henrietta Blyth, said.
“My heart breaks when I hear of believers in India and Vietnam being refused food aid and told ‘let your God feed you.’ Or when I hear of women like a Christian mother of therefrom Egypt who was kidnapped by the Muslim Brotherhood and forced to declare she had converted in a video.
“However, I don’t despair; I have seen face-to-face the inspiring strength and bravery of Christians around the world who deal with this persecution.
“At Open Doors we work to support, encourage and advocate for these remarkable men, women and children, who stand firm in their faith in spite of everything.”