Christians a target in Nigeria, bishop claims

A Nigerian Catholic bishop who has been raising international alarm about Christian persecution in Benue State has come under increasing verbal attacks and threats in recent weeks.

Bishop Wilfred Anagbe’s testimony before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa — in which he detailed how Fulani militants are killing or displacing Christian farmers and advancing an alleged campaign of Islamization — sparked outrage from Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Responding on March 14, Ministry spokesperson Kimembi Imomotomi Ebienfa dismissed Anagbe’s March 12 statements as contributing to “a wave of misinformation” and denied claims of targeted attacks on Christians. While acknowledging the country’s “security challenges,” the government rejected the idea that Christians are being singled out.

In a video interview from Scotland with The Catholic Register, Anagbe sharply criticized the Nigerian government’s refusal to confront the crisis, noting that even churches and places of worship are under siege.

“My diocese has lost about 15 parishes since 2018,” said Anagbe, who has served as Bishop of Makurdi since 2014. “Between 2015 and 2025, we’ve seen over 140 priests kidnapped — some were killed, others only released after ransom payments. Churches have been destroyed, including attacks on major holy days.”

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) highlighted a particularly brutal incident on Christmas Day 2024, when militants killed 47 Christians during a service in Anwase, Diocese of Gboko. Eight parish buildings, including the church and a clinic, were razed.

Anagbe pushed back on claims that Christians are not targeted, urging a look at the data.

“If Christians aren’t being targeted, then why have so many Christian churches been burned while mosques remain untouched? How many imams have been kidnapped?” he asked.

Accompanied by Fr. Remigus Ihyula during his advocacy efforts in the U.S. and U.K., Anagbe has faced increasing danger. On March 28, Ihyula received a message from a foreign embassy in Abuja warning that Anagbe could face an arrest warrant upon returning to Nigeria.

Ihyula emphasized the seriousness of the threat.
“There is a real and imminent danger to our lives,” he said. “The bishop wants to return home — especially for the Easter season — but it must be said that speaking out comes with persecution. He has a target on his back.”

Anagbe affirmed his intention to return: “I want to be home for the Paschal Mystery. But more importantly, someone must stand up for the truth. The world needs to know what is really happening.”

The threats began even before Anagbe’s U.S. appearance. Hours before he spoke to Congress on March 12, a fellow bishop warned him the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued a stern message: “Watch your words.”

Despite this, Anagbe didn’t hold back. Speaking before U.S. lawmakers, he accused powerful and influential Muslims in Nigeria of pushing an agenda to Islamize the country — home to 238 million people, roughly split between Christians and Muslims. He described how Christian farmers are being driven from their lands by militant Fulani herdsmen.

“They kill, they destroy, they kidnap, they rape — and do so with impunity,” Anagbe stated. “None have been brought to justice. The system is corrupt and the poverty widespread, which allows these criminals to thrive and recruit.”

According to Open Doors International, of the 4,476 Christians killed globally for their faith in 2024, 3,100 were murdered in Nigeria — more than in any other nation combined. Nigeria also recently ranked sixth in the Global Terrorism Index out of 66 countries.

Nina Shea, a longtime advocate for international religious freedom and former commissioner with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, also testified before the subcommittee. Shea, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, outlined how Fulani militants are armed by groups like the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, forming what she described as a “cattle oligarchy.”

Shea criticized how the Fulani aggression has been portrayed by the U.S. under President Biden. She cited the 2023 State Department report, which attributed the violence to a farmer-herder conflict driven by competition over land and water. Religious leaders, however, argue that these attacks are a deliberate effort to expel Christians.

Shea condemned what she called a “neo-Marxian” narrative that blames climate change, rather than religious extremism, for the violence.

“They don’t look at motive — they look at drivers,” said Shea. “They’d say, ‘Yes, the victims are Christian, but this isn’t about religion — it’s a herder killing a farmer.’”

Anagbe also rejected the climate change explanation.
“That narrative is false,” he said. “And when the Biden administration embraced it, they gave silent approval to the ongoing atrocities.”

He believes the U.S. removing Nigeria from its list of “countries of particular concern” (CPC) for religious persecution — a designation first applied under President Trump — emboldened extremists.

Shea, Anagbe, and Ihyula all support reinstating Nigeria’s CPC status, hoping it could pressure the Nigerian government into action and reduce the flow of arms fueling the violence.

There is optimism in their camp. ACN and other groups have reportedly had promising discussions with Trump’s incoming team, particularly with Dan Dunham, a National Security Council director for Africa.

Meanwhile, the EU, under Hungary’s presidency, has also taken interest in the situation. Hungary’s State Secretary for Aid to Persecuted Christians recently visited Nigeria on a fact-finding mission. Addressing the persecution of Christians is a core issue for Hungary’s EU agenda.