Christian persecution in Nigeria: 1,200 churches destroyed annually, hundreds killed

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 15:28 pm (CNA).

Father Matthew Eya was returning to his parish, St. Charles in Eha-Ndiagu, Nigeria, on the night of Sept. 19 when at least two armed men on motorcycles shot his car tires. Forced to stop the car, the men then shot him several times at close range, killing him. According to accounts of witnesses reported by Fides, his death was not a failed kidnapping attempt but a targeted murder.

He had been traveling on the Ehalumona-Nsukka road in Enugu state, an area ravaged by violence from Fulani militias and extremist groups.

Violence against Catholic priests in Nigeria continues to increase, especially in the eastern part of the country. According to a report by the NGO International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), published in August and updated this week, at least 15 priests were kidnapped between January and September alone.

According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), at least 145 priests have been kidnapped, 11 have been murdered, and four remain missing since 2015. However, Intersociety claims the reality is much worse. According to its counts, at least 250 Catholic clergy have been attacked in addition to another 350 clergy from other denominations.

The phenomenon, according to the report, is due to a combination of attacks by jihadist groups and organized criminal gangs operating for profit. Priests have been victims of both violent ambushes and financial extortion.

“Many were kidnapped for ransoms reaching tens of millions of nairas [Nigreian currency] or thousands of dollars. In other cases, the attackers sought to seize luxury vehicles belonging to the clerics to sell them to criminal networks,” Intersociety details in the report.

One of the most recent cases is that of Father Wilfred Ezemba, parish priest at St. Paul’s in Agaliga-Efabo (Kogi state) who was kidnapped on Sept. 12 along with other travelers by suspected jihadists and released on Sept. 16. 

3 churches devastated every day in Nigeria

Furthermore, the report estimates that from the Boko Haram uprising in July 2009 to September of this year, 19,100 Christian churches in Nigeria have been destroyed, looted, or violently closed, representing an average of 1,200 churches per year, 100 per month, or more than three per day.

The violence has affected both Catholic churches and the so-called “white-garment churches” belonging to the Organization of African Instituted Churches as well as other Christian denominations.

Mass exodus: Nearly 15 million people displaced

The persecution of Christians in Nigeria has also led to a mass exodus: At least 15 million people have been displaced, forced to abandon their villages, ancestral homes, and churches to flee the massacres.

Intersociety also highlights in the report that personnel from special units of the Nigerian army and police, along with their commanders, are allegedly involved in kidnappings, murders, and forced disappearances of pastors of various Christian denominations. According to the nongovernmental organization, they claim they are conducting counterinsurgency operations in the southeast part of the country against individuals or groups promoting the secession of the Nigerian region of Biafra, which attempted to become independent from Nigeria in 1967 and was defeated after a bloody war that lasted till 1970.

These operations began in October 2020 in Obigbo (Rivers state) and in January 2021 in Orlu (Imo state). The worst affected regions include Taraba, Adamawa, Borno, Kaduna, Benue, Plateau, Enugu, Imo, Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Yobe, and Southern Kaduna, where jihadist groups — such as Boko Haram, ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province), and Fulani herdsmen and bandits — have combined religious terrorism with criminal motives.

Jihadist camp holds at least 850 Christians

One of the most serious aspects documented in the report is the existence of jihadist camps, such as those in Rijana in Kaduna state, where at least 850 Christians are being held in extreme conditions, many of them tortured or killed if their families don’t pay a ransom. Recent cases include nuns kidnapped and released after ransom payments, as well as the murder and kidnapping of priests in Enugu and Kogi states in September.

Likewise, there have been systematic kidnappings of Christian children in eastern Nigeria who are sent to Islamic orphanages in the north for forced conversion to Islam, affecting Catholic schools and communities.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266803/christian-persecution-in-nigeria-1200-churches-destroyed-annually-hundreds-killed