A Nigerian soldier stands guard outside the central mosque in Jos, Nigeria, in January after violence resulted in the deaths of both Christians and Muslims. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom puts Nigeria in the company of China, Iran and other top violators of religious freedom. (File photo, Associated Press)

Nigeria pegged as most deadly country for Christians in humanitarian agency’s report

January 7, 2025

By Emma Ayers

Reprinted from Higher Ground — By The Washington Times

Nigeria is the deadliest nation for Christians, replacing the totalitarian state of North Korea, according to a humanitarian nonprofit group’s latest annual report on the persecution of Christians around the world.

Global Christian Relief released its “2025 Red List” of the most dangerous countries for Christians on Tuesday, using verified data to document killings, arrests, forced displacements and attacks on property.

Over the past two years, Nigeria has become the most intolerant environment for Christians, with nearly 10,000 believers killed primarily by extremist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State affiliates.

Attacks historically have been concentrated in the Muslim-majority north of the West African nation. Still, they have spilled over into the Christian south of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, according to Open Doors UK, a Christian humanitarian organization based in Britain.

Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province, both aligned with the Islamic State military group, specifically target Christians and use tactics like killing Christian men to destabilize families and communities, Open Doors wrote in 2022.

Meanwhile, environmental pressures are pushing Fulani herdsmen southward, igniting conflicts with Christian farmers. Militant factions have turned these disputes into ethnic and religious violence, further devastating Christian regions, humanitarian groups report.

In Global Christian Relief’s “2025 Red List,” African nations occupy the top four spots for the world’s most dangerous countries for Christians — in order: Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and Ethiopia. Russia is ranked No. 5.

India saw the highest number of attacks on Christian homes and churches, driven in large part by Hindu nationalist groups targeting minority communities.

“Despite the intense challenges in places like Nigeria, China, and India, we continue to see remarkable resilience in these communities,” Brian Orme, acting chief executive of Global Christian Relief, said in the group’s press release. “Even in the darkest circumstances, the Church not only survives but grows stronger — millions are choosing to follow Jesus despite knowing the risks they face.”

In Azerbaijan, military offensives forced the entire Christian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to flee in 2023, marking the most significant displacement of Christians globally, the group noted.

Meanwhile, China led the world in arrests of Christians, with more than 1,500 believers detained under the communist government’s religious prohibitions — 1,000 more than the next-highest known count in Eritrea, with 475.

North Korea is fifth in arrests, though the totalitarian country’s vise grip on information prevents real data from international access, Global Christian Relief noted.

“The two years of reporting from Red List truly reveals where Christian communities face the gravest threats and helps us direct life-saving support where it’s needed most,” Mr. Orme said.

The annual “Red List”’s research methodology relies on information from the Violent Incidents Database — a project of the International Institute for Religious Freedom — which aggregates reports from field interviews, research partners and self-reported incidents. Only verified cases are reported.

Ron Boyd-MacMillan, Global Christian’s chief of research and strategy, pointed to the importance of global advocacy in curbing violence.

“Speaking out for more freedom has very powerful effects, and we have seen that time and time again. Our hope is that the [incoming Trump] administration and people around the world will join us in advocating for those being persecuted,” Mr. Boyd-MacMillan said.

President-elect Donald Trump, in his previous administration, spearheaded a few measures to increase protections for Christians worldwide. In 2019, he headed the United Nations Event on Religious Freedom, where he called for countries to increase religious liberty.

“To stop the crimes against people of faith, release prisoners of conscience, repeal laws restricting freedom of religion and belief, protect the vulnerable, the defenseless, and the oppressed, America stands with believers in every country who ask only for the freedom to live according to the faith that is within their own hearts,” Mr. Trump said in 2019.