According to international persecution watchdog Open Doors, Nigerian Christians face deadly threats from Islamist extremist groups, following the release of a graphic video depicting the execution of four individuals referred to as “infidels.”
The suspects are believed to be members of Boko Haram, a jihadist terrorist group responsible for thousands of deaths in Nigeria and neighboring countries, and a video showing them executing the victims has been released.
In the video, an armed assailant in military attire, speaking Hausa, identifies one of the people being executed as his younger sister and claims, “She’s part of the infidels we will annihilate today.” The man warned that any who “go against our religion” would suffer the same fate, adding that “wherever there is an infidel, we will go and find them out by ourselves and execute them.” The attackers then executed the four people in the clip.
While the victims' religious identities were not confirmed, Open Doors UK and Ireland highlighted that Christians in Nigeria face particular vulnerability to extremist violence, often seen as primary targets due to their faith.
John Samuel, a legal expert for Open Doors' sub-Saharan Africa, spoke about Boko Haram’s ongoing jihad targeting those they label as “infidels.” Samuel, whose name has been altered for security reasons, stated, “Boko Haram extremists have clearly said time and time again that they are waging a jihad against people they call ‘infidels’ – that is anyone who does not sign up to their extreme interpretation of Islam. Some of the people at the top of this list, then, are Christians who are clear targets because of their faith.”
Adding to these concerns, Samuel noted that the Nigerian government’s resettlement program is pushing displaced individuals back into dangerous areas by closing camps that had previously offered them safety.
“The authorities have offered incentives to returnees, such as food parcels or one-off payments,” Samuel said. “Displaced Christians are very reluctant to return because of ongoing insecurity and unexploded mines planted in their villages. Some Christians who did return were attacked by militants and fled again.”
Earlier this year, Open Doors researchers conducted a field visit to northern Nigeria, where they found that a significant portion of displacement is driven by violent assaults on Christian communities, compounded by a lack of effective government intervention to protect them. Nigeria has ranked sixth on the 2024 Open Doors World Watch List, which identifies the 50 countries where Christians experience the most severe persecution due to their faith.
