CAN President
A total of 3,462 Christians were killed in Nigeria in the first six months of 2021, a report has said.
Among those killed or abducted were 10 priests or pastors.
It also said about 300 churches were threatened, attacked, closed or destroyed within the period.
A non-governmental organisation, U.S-based International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), which compiled the report, said the attacks and killings were perpetrated by Muslim militants in the wave of persecution against Christian in the country.
The group, headed by Christian Criminologist, Emeka Umeagbalasi, in the report, said the Fulani herdsmen was responsible for 1,909 of the 3,462 killings while Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, ISWAP, account for the remaining 1,063.
Intersociety said Benue State North Central zone of the country was the worst hit with 450 killings while Kaduna in the North West follows closely with 410 deaths.
Christian persecution watchdog group, Open Doors, reported earlier this year that 3, 530 Christians were killed in the previous year, 2020.
Intersociety said, in compiling the report, it relied on what it believed are credible media reports, government accounts, reports from international rights groups and eye witness accounts.
It noted that estimates are usually skewed because of inadequate government record keeping, death tolls reported by media outlets or government.
The group said the Nigerian government had continued to face sharp criticisms and strong accusations of culpability in the killings and supervision of same.
“The country’s security forces have so fumbled and compromised that they hardly intervene when the vulnerable Christians are in danger of threats or attacks, but only emerge after such attacks to arrest and frame up the same population threatened or attacked,” the report said.
It said victims who survived the attacks do not receive assistance or protection from the government from harm.
“It is deeply saddening that till date those responsible for the anti-Christian butcheries in the country have continued to evade justice and remained unchecked, untracked, un-investigated and untried, leading to impunity and repeat atrocities. The surviving victims and families of the dead victims are also totally abandoned by the Government of Nigeria,” the report said.
Citing the report, the international Christian Concern (ICC), said Nigeria remained the biggest killing ground of Christians today, but that few are aware of it. It said the Fulani herdsmen are the fourth deadliest terror group in the world.
“Christians farming village villages are reportedly attacked in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, and tens of thousands have died over the last 20 years. In addition, hundreds of thousands of Christians have lost everything and are living as refugees,” it said.
In its report in January this year, Open Door, said Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, attributed the prevalent persecution of Christian across the world to extreme level of Islamic oppression.
It also said Jihad attacks had been on the rise in West Africa and that Nigeria was the most targeted country in the region.
Nigeria was ranked third among the countries most affected by terrorism in the world, according to Global Terrorism Index. It said over 22,000 Nigerians were killed by terrorists between 2001 and 2019.
In December, Nigeria also became the first democratic country to be listed on U.S. Department’s “Countries of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.
The Nigerian government said last year that the groups which claimed that there was a religious genocide in the country were being funded by separatist groups. Some groups however debunked the claim.
