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Is Nigeria committing genocide against Christians? · The Daily Article

• 0:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Greetings on this Friday, November the 7th, 2025.
• 0:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome!
• 0:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: You've joined us for the daily article podcast from Denison Forum.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Dr. Ryan Denison, Senior Editor for theology, author today's daily article.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Chris Elkins, narrator.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Towards the end of President Trump's first term in office, his administration designated Nigeria as a CPC, a country of particular concern.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: The label is given to nations that, as understood under international religious freedom act of 1998, quote, engaged in severe violations of religious freedom.
• 0:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: While the label was removed the following year by President Biden's Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, Trump reinstated it this past weekend in response to increased scrutiny of the government's failure to protect the Christians within its borders.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Designating a country as a CPC doesn't lead to immediate sanctions or required the administration to follow through on Trump's threat of military action and withheld aid.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: However, it does necessitate that Congress look into the matter and represent it as from the House Appropriations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee are preparing to do just that.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: While President Trump is the most powerful voice to race concern over the treatment of Christians in Nigeria, he's far from the first.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Senator Ted Cruz, entered his legislation in August, proposing sanctions against the country for violations of religious freedom.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And the U.S. C.I.R.F.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: has advocated for intervention for years.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: The Commission's report from August of last year describes in detail the myriad ways in which Christians have suffered at the hands of terrorist organizations and bandits, as well as the hands of the government at the state and local levels, despite the country's constitution officially prohibiting the adoption of an official
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  [SPEAKER_00]: initial religion.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It does permit the use of Sharia and blasphemy laws.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Citizens are not supposed to be compelled to abide by them, but that hasn't stopped local and state governments from using them to imprison, beat, and even stone those who fail to abide by their codes of conduct.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: However, Nigerian Christians are not the only ones to suffer such treatment and the reality of the situation is more complex than the headlines make it seem.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: As Connor Jones described on this week's episode of Culture Brief from Dinnison Forum,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Part of what makes the situation in Nigeria so complicated is that the nation has a population of nearly 240 million people, and it's split relatively evenly between Christians and Muslims.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Most of the country's Christian population resides in the southern half.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: While the northern half is predominantly Muslim, the vast majority of the violence is located in the northern and central parts of the country.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In major southern metropolitan areas like Legos, Christian persecution is relatively low.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In the north, however, militant groups like Boko Haram, target both Christians and Muslims who will not go along with their brand of radicalized Islam.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: While followers of Jesus are six point five times more likely to be killed than Muslims, these terrorist armies have killed tens of thousands of their fellow Muslims as well.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: To their credit, the government has tried to intervene at times only to find that its forces are often outmatched.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Just last month, Boko Haram overran a military barracks along Nigeria's northern border and forced the soldiers to flee leaving behind their weapons.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: yet as bad as the violence is in the north, central Nigeria is even worse.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Esa Sanose, the executive director of Nigeria's branch of Amnesty International, said in May that 93% of the roughly 10,000 people killed by bandits in the last two years came from two states in the central part of the nation.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But while there is undoubtedly a religious component to their violence in this region,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: economics play an important role as well.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: The primary perpetrators of the attacks in central Nigeria are the Philani Hurtzmann.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: For generations, they raise their cattle and other livestock in a nomadic way of life.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: However, as the country's population increased, more and more of that land was converted to farms, most of which are owned and operated by Christians.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: That said, what started as a land dispute has since morphed into something else.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: These radicalized groups have learned that it is often far easier to find support for their cause when they can claim it is motivated by religion.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Moreover, at least in central Nigeria, they receive less pushback by targeting Christians than they would be by attacking those who share their spiritual perspectives.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And while government officials claimed that, quote, both sides have been perpetrators and victims, Zairi Yusuf, a Nigerian political analyst, notes that, quote, I am yet to find any Muslim community where people have been sacked and others came into occupy those places.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In quote, at the end of the day, even if the violence is motivated by more than religion,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Religion is still at the heart of the death and destruction that is turned Nigeria into, quote, the deadliest country for Christians.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So why can we do about it when faced with the reality of persecution to the extent seen in Nigeria?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: We have to start with prayer.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: However, we can intercede for our brothers and sisters in Christ more effectively when we know enough about them.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: to better empathize with what they're going through.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: That means reading beyond the headlines and talking points to truly learn about their situation and the dangers they face.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So while we pray for those who go to bed each night and sure of whether they'll see the morning, we must also pray for those in the government who are genuinely trying to help but like either the strength or resources to make a significant difference.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: and we need to pray that God would protect the Muslims who are being persecuted as well, understanding that those who perpetrate the violence do not represent the entire religion.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Taking the time to research the events and people for whom we pray will add depth to our intercession and help them remain on our hearts and minds far longer than if we offer a simple short prayer before moving on with our day.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Then, once you've prayed for those facing the threat of persecution, take some time to ask the Lord if he would ask anything else of you as well.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: We some Al-Salabi, the president of 21 Wilberforce, joined Dr. Mark Termin on this week's Faith and Clarity podcast from Denison Forum to discuss the persecution in Nigeria and around the world, as well as some of the more tangible ways that people can help.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: organizations such as open door, the voice of martyrs, and others are also worth exploring.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: God is not going to ask most of us to share the gospel in areas where we might lose our lies for doing so.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: That may be his will for some, but even if it's not your calling to go, we are all called to help.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So, before you close this article or pause this podcast,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: take some time to ask the Lord where He wants you to help.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It could be a simple as setting reminders in your phone or on notes around your bedroom to help you remember to pray more frequently for those facing persecution.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps He
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  [SPEAKER_00]: would have you donate your time or resources to one of the organizations trying to help those same people, or maybe his calling for your life is to take the step of becoming more directly involved in taking the gospel to some of the world's darkest places.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Whatever the case may be, know that he has a role for you to play in helping the lost come to know Jesus and in supporting your fellow believers as they attempt to do the same.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: What is your role today?