The truth about Christian persecution in Nigeria
The following testimony was prepared by Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria, for a July 18 hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The desire to stop the genocidal killings of Christians in Benue State, Nigeria brought me in October 2022, before a large gathering of members of Aid to the Church in Need International in Konigstein-Germany, members of the European Union in Brussels, government representatives of nine countries, journalists, and other groups. What I presented that day concerned especially our experience in the Benue Valley and my Diocese of Makurdi, where, for a long time, attacks by Islamic militants not only killed thousands, but also displaced millions who now take refuge in camps scattered across the state. Schools, clinics, churches, markets, etc., have all been destroyed in some areas.
Since 2014, when I became bishop, I have lost territory to the Islamic militants masquerading as herdsmen. I have had to close 14 parishes because of the danger. Now, one year later, I am here before you in the United States, when just last June, I met with U.S. congressmen to make an appeal about the situation our region has been plunged into.
For us in Benue State, where the Christian population is almost 97 percent, the killings by Jihadi elements have going on for a long time, and from 2009 on, the pattern of displacement and occupation of lands by these elements became commonplace. There has been destruction of churches, schools, clinics, local markets, farms, etc. Since 2014, my fellow bishops in Benue and I have lost parishioners almost daily.
The killings of people, even pregnant women and children, and the occupation of their lands to cause the cessation of all economic activities mirror the pattern of Jihadi elements like Boko Haram in other parts of Nigeria. I think you will agree that this mass slaughter of Christians by all standards meets the criteria of a calculated genocide. The United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Act defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.”
It is disheartening to note that since the atrocities started, nothing serious has been heard to happen to the perpetrators. Our national government has not shown convincing signs of or real commitment to ending the killings. The inaction and silence about our plight by both the government and powerful stakeholders all over the world prompts me to often conclude that there is a conspiracy of silence and a strong desire to just watch the Islamists get away with genocide in Benue State and other parts of Nigeria. I call on all who hear my words to come to the aid of the Christian community in Benue, and indeed, in Nigeria as a whole, before it is too late.
Some persons in the West, especially, often question why we think the killings in Nigeria are faith-motivated or prompted by a jihad against Christians in the country. The answer is simple. In 1989, a gathering of Muslims in Nigeria adopted what is today known as the “Abuja Islamic Declaration.”[1] It is a declaration that has been adopted by the Islamic council of Nigeria. The declaration outlines a vision for the role of Islam in Nigerian society, and it calls for the establishment of an Islamic State in Nigeria.
The Abuja Islamic Declaration is strongly influenced by the ideas of the Egyptian Muslim brotherhood and the Iranian revolution. The Declaration argues that Islam is a complete way of life that should guide all aspects of society, including politics, economics, and culture. It calls for the implementation of Shari’a law as the basis of the legal system in Nigeria and for the establishment of an Islamic state that would be responsible for implementing Islamic principles.
Historically, it is since this declaration that Nigeria has witnessed a steady decline into religious bigotry that is often openly professed by Islamic clerics or some politicians in Nigeria. When one puts into context the absolute impunity with which the gruesome killings of men, women, and children, and the displacement of whole villages without consequence by people who openly profess allegiance to ISWAP take place, one cannot help but agree that the attacks are premeditated and pre-planned.
I am aware that some people, in Nigeria and in the West, allude to some Muslims who are also killed in our country. This is to say that the truth is false equivalency at best, for it is uncharitable to the memory of our Christian brothers and sisters who have endured persecution for years that their sufferings are mixed up with the killings resulting from the struggle over political and economic power between the Hausa and Fulani tribes, who come from the same faith. The blatant killing and displacement of Christian communities in Nigeria is done in fulfillment of the long-time promise by fundamentalist Islamic groups in Nigeria bent on “dipping the Quran into the Atlantic Ocean”: a euphemism for conquering the Christian states of the middle belt and southern regions of Nigeria.
It is my hope that you take a second look at Nigeria, consider the evidence before you, [and understand] that Nigeria is a country where Christian persecution is rife and crimes against humanity persist. It would be helpful if Nigeria was placed on list of countries of Particular Concern. We also call for the appointment of a Special Envoy to the Sub-Saharan Region of Africa to enable the truth about the issues we have been trying to bring to the attention of the West to come out.
