Christians in Nigeria are facing an escalating humanitarian and faith-based crisis. In a deeply emotional and urgent plea, Rev. Ezekiel Dachmo described the horrific reality faced by these communities, stating: “I’m tired of being outside performing burials every day.” He accused the Nigerian government of refusing to acknowledge what he called a massacre and genocide of Christians in Nigeria.
He also made a direct appeal to the American Senate and former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Adviser to intervene and save lives, condemning inaction in the face of mounting bloodshed.
Rev. Ezekiel Dachmo delivers a powerful and emotional message exposing what he calls a genocide against Christians in Nigeria. In this heartfelt plea, he challenges the Nigerian government’s denial of mass killings and directly appeals to the American Senate and Donald Trump’s Special Adviser for urgent intervention.
The Rising Death Toll of Christians in Nigeria
The statistics are staggering. According to a report for the first 220 days of 2025, over 7,000 Christians in Nigeria have been killed—an average of roughly 32 to 35 deaths per day. In 2024 alone, over 3,100 Christians were killed and nearly 2,830 kidnapped in Nigeria, making it the worst country globally for Christian fatalities that year.
In specific incidents, armed Fulani militants allegedly slaughtered more than 200 Christians in the village of Yelwata, in Benue State, in June 2025. Another spate of attacks in Benue left at least 218 people dead and more than 6,000 displaced—mostly from Christian villages.
Over the broader context, reports estimate that more than 50,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria over the past decade-plus, while under-reporting and confusion about motives mean the true toll could be much higher.
Many of these attacks target churches, Christian schoolchildren, farmers, and villages in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and northern regions—areas where the intersection of land use conflict, herder-farmer clashes, religious identity and extremist violence create a deadly mix.
Why Are These Killings Happening to Christians in Nigeria?
Multiple factors converge. Extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) continue to operate throughout Nigeria, especially in the northeast and central zones, targeting Christians among others.
Simultaneously, conflicts between primarily Muslim Fulani herders and primarily Christian farmers in the Middle Belt are often described as land and resource disputes—but increasingly carry a religious undertone or are framed as such.
What makes the situation for Christians especially dire is the sense that they are being singled out: attacks on churches, kidnappings of clergy, destruction of Christian-owned property, and forced displacement.
Several human rights groups and religious freedom monitors argue that the scale and pattern of violence against Christians in Nigeria demands urgent recognition and action.
Why the United Nations Has Failed Christians in Nigeria
The United Nations, whose founding duty is to “maintain international peace and security” and to take “effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace,” has mechanisms in place to address atrocities and genocide. Yet the response to the crisis of Christians in Nigeria has been widely criticised as inadequate.
Despite evidence and appeals, the U.N. has not taken high-visibility, decisive action to curb the killings of Christians in Nigeria. Some activists describe this inaction as deliberate or negligent:
“The United Nations is a SCAM. Hindu minorities are being systematically wiped out in Bangladesh. Christians are butchered in Nigeria. But, the United Nations is crying for the Muslims of Gaza.”
Whether or not one agrees with the phrasing, the sentiment reflects deep frustration that the suffering of Christians in Nigeria is not matched by proportionate global outrage or intervention.
In 2023 the U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide gave a statement in Nigeria acknowledging the risk of atrocity crimes, yet concrete follow-up action remains sparse. Critics point out that the Nigerian government itself denies a targeted genocide and emphasizes the complexity of multiple overlapping conflicts rather than religious persecution alone. The result: Christians in Nigeria continue to be exposed in what many call a “silent genocide”.
The Urgent Call to the World
Rev. Dachmo’s message is not just for Nigeria—it is for the world: global institutions, foreign governments, religious communities and civil society. He demanded that silence stop, that the killings of Christians in Nigeria be acknowledged, prevented and reversed. He urged that when one nation repeatedly fails to protect a segment of its population, the international community must step in.
The heavy toll of lives lost, the hundreds of churches destroyed, tens of thousands displaced, and thousands of clergy abducted and killed testify to an unprecedented crisis for Christians in Nigeria. The question now is: Will the world act?
Why This Matters
- The violence against Christians in Nigeria is among the highest globally in terms of faith-based killings.
- Failure to act not only means more lives lost but also the destabilization of regions central to Nigeria’s economy and food security (such as Benue State).
- The perception of discrimination in protection fuels further mistrust, polarization and radicalization.
- Morally and legally, global institutions like the U.N. have a mandate to respond to atrocity crimes. Continued inaction undermines their credibility.
What Needs to Happen
- Formal recognition by global leaders and institutions that the plight of Christians in Nigeria is urgent and requires immediate response.
- Targeted support for Christian communities in Nigeria: protection of villages, rebuilding of destroyed churches, security for clergy, and access to justice.
- Pressure and monitoring of the Nigerian government to ensure equal protection regardless of religion, credible investigations of attacks, and accountability for perpetrators.
- A revamp of U.N.-led mechanisms so that faith-targeted violence is not sidelined but addressed with the same vigor as other atrocity threats.
Conclusion
The lives of Christians in Nigeria are hanging in the balance. Their pleas, like those of Rev Dachmo, echo in a world that appears distracted or selective. Whether as an act of faith, of conscience or of international responsibility, the global community must face the reality: the collapse of hope and safety for Christians in Nigeria is not simply a national tragedy—it is a global moral failure. The world must respond now, before more villages fall silent, more churches burn and more lives disappear in the dark.
Sources: Genocide Watch, CNA, Open Doors
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