Photo from the Daily Post

Nigeria continues to face a severe genocidal crisis, particularly targeting Christians and moderate Muslims in the Northeast, Northwest, and Middle Belt regions. Islamist groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province), and Fulani jihadists are responsible for systematic violence. Despite overwhelming evidence of genocidal acts, both the Nigerian government and key international actors remain in denial, avoiding the legal and moral responsibilities that acknowledgment would require.

New Evidence of Genocide

On June 14, 2025, Fulani jihadists carried out an overnight attack killing more than 200 Christians in Benue State. A local county official urged replacing military deployments with police, citing security failures.

In an analysis titled “Silent Jihadist Genocide,” Intersociety characterizes the massacres of Christians as a “Jihadist Genocide of Christians,” noting 8,222 killed in 2023 and calling Nigeria the second-deadliest genocide country.

Denial

Government and societal denial remain widespread. Sources such as Save the Persecuted Christians and Daily Post Nigeria highlight this trend. Church leaders and analysts have criticized the government and military for consistently describing Fulani jihadist massacres of Christians as "communal clashes" or "herder farmer disputes," ignoring the explicit religious targeting. Rev. David Azzaman sharply noted:

“The military… refers to these attacks as communal clashes or ‘farmer/herder clashes’ … What is going on … is genocide.”

Silence Among Christian Elites

Voices from the Middle Belt Forum and other clergy lament that many church leaders and politicians avoid calling the killings “genocide”—fearing political backlash. Former Kaduna deputy governor James Bawa Magaji criticized them, stating:

“A lot of Christian politicians are afraid … They color the truth because they want to be politically correct.”

Local officials in Benue and Plateau have questioned military deployment, recommending police instead, revealing a tacit admission of security failure but no recognition of religiously motivated terror. Truth Nigeria articles repeatedly highlight that while atrocities happen within view of military bases, responses remain muted or delayed.

Intersociety on Political Denial in Southeast

Intersociety warned that Southeast governors are engaging in “deafening denial” by ceding land to Fulani herdsmen, despite risking jihadist encroachment. They lament that, as of 2021, more than 700 communal lands had been taken over.

International Misrepresentation

Save the Persecuted Christians, via Truth Nigeria, emphasized that global advocacy is undermined when Western governments echo religious neutral narratives. Dede Laugesen stated:

“Nothing will change … until the Nigerian people unite with one voice … It’s not … climate change … This is genocide pure and simple. All who try to explain it otherwise are culpable.”