Nigerian Christians need our help

Pastor Fred Williams writes about the violence being faced by Christians in northern Nigeria, and calls on the Church to find constructive ways to respond and offer support

Word has finally got out that something truly terrible is happening in northern Nigeria. However, as the plight of millions across the region is finally being treated seriously in the world’s media, it appears that others have been downplaying the seriousness of the situation.

Certain leaders in Nigeria have been trying to shut down the narrative that Christians have been targeted in the violence that is happening in Nigeria’s middle belt.

I was born in Hackney, but I lived and worked in Jos (a city in central Nigeria) for three decades. I have learnt about the horrific violence firsthand, so I have been asked to compile evidence of what is really happening – using film, photographs, testimonies – to show what has been happening to Christians.

And so, I have travelled across Plateau State to capture interviews. There are so many horrors to document, as the violence here has been unrelenting. Earlier this year, 27 people were slaughtered by members of the Fulani people, who have become radicalised by militant Islamism. There are no mortuaries, and not enough coffins to offer a proper resting place for those killed. Across the region, we have become very good at digging mass graves.

Right now, I am compiling the evidence to send across the world. I have had to stop three times because I was so traumatised. I was looking at footage of pregnant women with their stomachs slit open, young children with their necks slit, visuals of people beheaded, and so much more.  Sometimes, the militants make the killing so graphic just to send a signal, and it’s truly traumatising. Even though I see myself as a seasoned journalist, I broke down in tears on several occasions.

I work as a community leader and creative director of the LoveBack Project in Plateau State. We work with Christians whose lives have been torn apart by the violence. But we also work with the largely Muslim Fulani people. We are working to help rebuild the communities that are being broken down by the extremist violence that has created a toxic religious divide where once there was peaceful coexistence.

It’s impossible to overstate how much the violence has grown. It isn’t just “getting worse”; it’s exponential. It has become so regular, that it is no longer making the news. The people living in many of these villages are being traumatised and re-traumatised. While they are busy trying to bury their loved ones, they’re suddenly attacked again.

Christians have long been in the sights of the militant Fulani groups, but the attacks have gone beyond Christians now. They are attacking military installations. Many of these kidnappers have raised millions and they invest the money in weapons. They are so bold now that they are not afraid to show their faces online.

However, there’s something else I’m deeply concerned about as a pastor: how Christians are responding to the violence.

You have a select few churches who are resolute and who have decided they will follow the teachings of Christ, which is not ‘an eye for an eye’. However, that response is becoming very rare. Many of the communities have said they have turned the other cheek and now there’s no other cheek left to turn. You can see vigilante groups gathering.

We just don’t know what to do. This is the time that the global Church and the international community need to understand that we need your voice. The suffering Christians of Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Miango, Mangu Bokkos – and hundreds more villages – need your comfort and to know that you are standing by us and speaking up for us.

I know that, around the world, we Nigerians are known for our prayers and we should never stop praying. However, I think we should go further and become truly proactive. How can we help people in the region build new communities out of the millions who have been driven from their homes? How can we empower them? How can we clothe them?

As I have been looking at all the horrific footage over the last few days, I have wanted to avert my eyes so many times. But we need to face the shocking truth. Then we need find constructive ways to respond.

Pastor Fred Williams is the founder of the LoveBack project and has been working in Plateau State, Nigeria, for 30 years. He was speaking to Ben Cohen of Open Doors.

Visit www.opendoorsuk.org/act/arise-africa/ to learn more about the work of Open Doors in sub-Saharan Africa

The violence in numbers:
4,849 Christians killed worldwide because of their Christian identity, during Open Doors’ World Watch List 2026 reporting period
3,490 of them were killed in Nigeria – that’s nearly 72% of the international total3.4 million Nigerians have been displaced from their homes by the violence