According to a new report by Nigeria’s International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, thousands of Christians are being martyred for their faith while the country’s government are stating other reasons for their deaths.
The report, which was published on Wednesday, found that 2,000 Nigerian Christians were hacked to death throughout 2020 (Jan 2020 to Dec. 13), with an estimated 34,400 since 2009.
An estimated 20,000 moderate Muslims were also murdered by radical Muslims.
According to Intersociety leader and founder Emeka Umeagbalasi, the Nigerian government covers up the anti-Christian killings by reporting it as random banditry or inter-tribal violence.
Umeagbalasi claimed that the attacks on Christians are plan of a larger plan to conquer Nigeria for Islam, The Christian Post reports. He added that the government does nothing to stop these attacks due to their support of radical Islamists.
President Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim, is a member Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, which supports radical Islamic tribesmen.
Umeagbalasi noted that Buhari “sets aside the Constitution” while making “appointments without recourse to the Constitution.'”
“In the Constitution, it is forbidden for the government to have a state religion,” he explained. “The Constitution made it clear that the composition of the armed forces of Nigeria should reflect regional or religious balancing, but the president is not listening to that.”
According to the Intersociety report, Buhari appoints Muslims in high positions in the government. Following Buhari's election in 2015, Muslims have taken 32 out of the 39 most important positions in politics, security, lawmaking and the judiciary.
According to the Christian Post, in June, five major Islamic groups in Nigeria joined together to oppose Christians.
“The country is being taken over by the caliphate,” Umeagbalasi said. “When they are done in the north, they will now come to the south.”
Umeagbalasi added that the Nigerian government orders its armed forces to stand down or retreat if fired upon by the radical Muslims. The Nigerian Army have even allegedly participated in killing Christians themselves.
“There is a security code given to Nigerian armies not to shoot or arrest Fulani hitmen,” Umeagbalasi explained. “Christian Army leaders drew my attention to it. The soldiers said there was an instruction from the president [that] nobody should shoot. If you are under attack, you should retreat.”
Umeagbalasi was also told by Christians in the Army that commanders get transferred to different assignments for telling soldiers to fight terrorism. By being transferred, they cannot make the country safer.
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
