US Senator Ted Cruz has drawn attention on social media to the Nigerian authorities’ negligence and complicity in “the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.” Cruz has submitted a bill proposing sanctions against Nigeria for its persecution of Christians. The Nigerian government denies the accusations, even as evidence of growing anti-Christian persecution in the country becomes increasingly apparent.

Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris admitted that Nigeria faces security challenges, but described allegations of “deliberate, systematic attacks against Christians” as inaccurate and harmful.

The security situation, particularly in the country’s predominantly Muslim regions, has been deteriorating for years. Since the election of Bola Tinubu as Nigerian president in mid-2023, around 10,000 people have been killed and hundreds kidnapped. Violence has forced over three million people to leave from their homes.

The worst-affected areas are Benue and Plateau states, located in the country’s north-central region. Armed groups have killed and abducted civilians, destroyed buildings, schools, clinics, and places of worship.

Analysts and survivors note that the violence affects all faith groups, and is driven as much by disputes over land, climate change, poverty, and weak governance as by religion itself.

Nigeria Faces Security Challenges Across Regions, Government Held Responsible for Attacks Against Christians

In the north-east, the Boko Haram insurgency continues to escalate. Since its formation in 2002, the jihadist militant group has killed tens of thousands of people. In 2014, it abducted over 250 schoolgirls in Borno State.

In the north-west, criminal gangs and kidnappers operate freely, frequently targeting underserved rural communities

In the central belt, which includes Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, and southern Kaduna states, many people have died in violent clashes between local communities and pastoralist herders.

In July, attackers stormed the farming village of Yelwata in Benue, killing at least 160 people. This fertile region lies on the fault line of Nigeria’s deepening farmer–herder crisis, where long-standing tensions between predominantly Christian farmers and mostly Muslim Fulani herders have repeatedly erupted into bloodshed.

Why are prominent US Republican figures like Senator Ted Cruz pushing misleading claims of a „Christian genocide” in Nigeria? pic.twitter.com/oGY32niaSa

— DW News (@dwnews) October 15, 2025

Nigeria’s Government Fails to Take Effective Action Against Attacks on Christians

Attacks and reprisals on both sides go back decades and have grown deadly. Christian farming communities bear the brunt of the violence and accuse the government of failing to recognise the full scale of the crisis, including its ethnic and territorial dimensions.

The death toll in Benue State alone has risen above one hundred.

Father Atta Barkindo, Executive Director of the Kukah Center in Abuja, argues that the „Christian genocide” narrative stems from the government’s inability to protect its citizens.

„What has been happening in Nigeria, and I don’t want the debate to overshadow this, is a matter of mindset,”

Barkindo told DW.

Comfort Isfanus, from Bokkos district in Plateau state, was at home in her kitchen when she heard hurried footsteps outside. Her husband, Danladi, burst in, gasping for breath. Armed men were advancing towards their community. He grabbed her hand and urged her to take the children to safety, she told DW.

„After we fled, he stayed behind with his brother. The gunmen killed them both. Our homes were burned to the ground, and now we are suffering without shelter for our children. There is nothing left. No food, no school, no work, nothing.”

Karimatu Aminu also lost her husband. One morning in late December, she accompanied him to their farm. He asked her to stop by the local market and buy a few things for the evening meal. It was the last time she saw him alive.

„Today Fulani homes are burned; tomorrow it will be the houses of the Christian community. Both sides are losing people and homes.”

Ancient Hostility, Intensifying Conflict

For many communities in the region, the violence goes beyond tit-for-tat killings between herders and farmers. The conflict partly reflects the lingering mistrust towards the Fulani pastoralist ethnic groups, a legacy of the infamous Islamic jihad that swept through northern and central Nigeria, disrupting local structures and political systems.

Analysts say this deep-rooted division continues to shape modern conflicts in the region. Many groups – some of which were never fully subdued at the time – see today’s crisis not merely as a struggle over land or resources, but as a continuation of historical aggression. This perspective fuels enduring mistrust and hostility between Christians and Muslims.

Nigeria has become one of the most perilous places on earth for Christians. Attacks by Fulani militias and jihadist groups are spreading rapidly. According to a recent report by Open Doors, violence against Christians has increased globally over the past year.