Every morning in parts of Nigeria, children wake to a silence they never wished for — no roosters crowing, no prayers at dawn. In villages once alive with church choirs and harvest songs, charred remains and weeping families are all that remain. This is the grim reality for thousands of Christians who are being slaughtered simply for who they are — for what they believe — and yet, too often, the world looks away.
The Scale of the Tragedy
In Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, and other states, the attacks are brutal and repetitive — night raids by gunmen, burning of homes, killing of children, elderly people, and pastors. The Holy Week massacre in Plateau State, for example, was an orgy of violence: homes set ablaze, machetes used with chilling precision, and dozens of Christians hacked to death.
Why the World Doesn’t Seem to Care Enough
If these massacres are occurring openly, why is there so little global outcry, so little political pressure, so little sustained media coverage?
- Desensitization and distance. The deaths are happening in faraway places, in rural villages, among communities that many in the West do not know. When violence is far away, media coverage often shrinks, and with it, public awareness.
- Complex narratives muddying the waters. Conflicts are often described in terms of land, ethnicity, resource scarcity, or “banditry” instead of religious persecution. While these are real factors, the religious dimension is often under-played. Christians are, in many cases, targeted for their faith — their places of worship destroyed, pastors abducted or killed, believers threatened. But when reports frame everything as “communal violence,” the religious motive can be obscured.
- Media priorities and biases. What gets attention: wars involving great powers, refugee crises close to home, or stories that fit familiar, sensational templates. Christian persecution in Nigeria rarely fits neatly into these. Many large media outlets give only passing notice to such tragedies, if they cover them at all. There is also pressure (real or perceived) to avoid religious framing for fear of inflaming sectarian tensions or being accused of bias.
- Government inaction or denial. The Nigerian government, local authorities, even some religious leaders, sometimes deny that religion is a driving factor. They emphasize that many of the victims are Christian and Muslim, or that conflicts are about land or poverty. While these points have merit, there is mounting evidence that Christians are being specifically targeted. Governments that do not acknowledge this cannot properly protect their people.
- Geopolitical and diplomatic costs. Nations often hesitate to criticize partners, especially in regions where cooperation is needed on other issues (security, trade, migration). Mounting pressure could force uncomfortable responsibilities — accountability, military action, or aid to refugees — that many governments prefer to sidestep.
The Moral and Strategic Imperative to Act
To remain silent is not to be neutral. It helps perpetuate the cycle of violence. What must happen, and what can happen, if enough people demand it?
- Media organizations should commit to coverage that is sustained, nuanced, and honest. This means telling the stories of Christian victims not just as statistics, but as human beings. It means acknowledging faith-based targeting when evidence supports it.
- Governments and international bodies must use diplomatic levers. Designations of “countries of particular concern” or similar mechanisms for religious freedom should be meaningful. Aid, trade, and security relationships should reflect respect for religious freedom as a core human right.
- Civil society and faith communities can help by raising awareness, documenting abuses, supporting victims, and building coalitions across religious lines. The mistake is to treat this only as a “Christian” issue — because when any religious group is under attack, the integrity of religious liberty globally is threatened.
- Justice and accountability matter: when perpetrators are identified — whether local militias, extremist groups, or criminals — they must be brought to justice. Impunity sends a message that violence, even mass violence, has no consequences.
Conclusion
The massacre of Christians in Nigeria — and similar tragedies in other countries — strikes at two foundational pillars: the sanctity of life and the freedom of belief. If the world continues to treat such violence as just one more headline or, worse, a distant concern, then the lives lost risk being written off as inevitable casualties in a struggle no one wants to own.
We must ask ourselves: What kind of world do we want to live in — one where faith is a reason for fear, or faith is protected by law, by conscience, and by compassion? Let our answer be measured not only in our sorrow, but in our solidarity.