Sad. And very disheartening.
Posted on 10/22/2025 9:39:42 AM PDT by ebb tide
The Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin this week suggested that the violence against Christians in Nigeria is not a matter of Islamists targeting Christians but merely a series of conflicts stemming from non-religious disputes. But according to facts gathered by the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), however, the claim that Christians are not targeted for persecution is a “myth.”
Speaking to journalists at the Pontifical Augustinian Institute in Rome as the advocacy organization Aid to the Church in Need launched its latest Religious Freedom Report, Cardinal Parolin’s decries “stressed that the situation there is ‘not a religious conflict, but rather more a social one, for example, disputes between herders and farmers,’” Vatican News reported.
“We should also recognize that many Muslims in Nigeria are themselves victims of this same intolerance,” Parolin said, calling anti-Christian attackers “extremist groups that make no distinctions in pursuing their goals. They use violence against anyone they see as an opponent.”
According to an executive summary of the ORFA report published in August of last year, research shows that the Muslim Fulani Ethnic Militia had carried out mass killings, abductions, and torture of Christians between Oct. 1, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2023.
Little had been done, as of the time of the report, to resist the violence, and reports continue to show that Government forces are largely failing to intervene, focusing their efforts elsewhere while these attacks continue mostly unopposed.
According to the ORFA report, which summarized data from 2019 to 2023, a total of 55,910 people were killed in that timespan, including 30,880 civilians and 25,030 members of Security Forces or Terror Groups.
A total of 21,621 people were abducted, the vast majority (21,532) of them civilians.
There were 11,610 attacks with killings and/or abductions, including 8,905 attacks with killings only, 1,065 with both killings and abductions, and 1,640 with abductions only.
Overall, Nigeria saw an average of eight attacks per day involving killings and/or abductions.
Religious Group Impact
In the same timeframe, Nigerian Christians were killed at a higher rate than non-Christian Nigerians.
Among the 30,880 civilians killed, over half (16,769) were Christians, while 6,235 were Muslims and only 154 were members of various traditional African religions. A remainder of 7,722 civilians killed were of unknown religious identification.
The pattern against Christians also appears in the abduction numbers ORFA reported. More Christians were abducted in Nigeria than others
Among the 21,532 civilians abducted, 11,185 (again, over half) were Christians, while 7,899 were Muslims, 184 were members of African traditional religions, and 2,264 were of unknown religious affiliation.
Attack patterns and trends over time
The ORFA report also noted that most civilians were killed or abducted during attacks on their communities, and that attacks with civilians killed, especially Christian farmers in the North Central region, peaked early between April and May, which is the heart of the farming season.
During those peaks of violence, there was a marked drop in engagement by Security Forces. Security Forces also concentrated their operations in the Northwest and Northeast, leaving the North Central area more vulnerable.
Responsible Groups
The ORFA report identified as responsible for the most civilian killings “Other Terrorist Groups (12,039) and Armed Fulani Herdsmen (11,948). The Jihadist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) combined were responsible for 3,079 civilian deaths.
The report found that those responsible for the most abductions were “Other Terrorist Groups” (13,728), Armed Fulani Herdsmen (6,380), and Boko Haram and ISWAP, again combined (1,023).
Christians made up 55% of the victims of killings by Armed Fulani Herdsmen, 29% of those killed by “Other Terrorist Groups,” and 8% of those killed by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Muslims made up 24% of the victims of killings by Armed Fulani Herdmen, 53% of those killed by “Other Terrorist Groups,” and 12% of those killed by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Christians were 35% of those abducted by Armed Fulani Herdsmen, 60% of those abducted by “Other Terrorist Groups,” and 4% of those abducted by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Islamist connections of ‘Other Terrorist Groups’
ORFA’s research showed that the Islamist Armed Fulani Herdsmen are affiliated with FEM (Fulani Ethnic Militia), an ethno-religious terrorist group.
In addition, a significant number of those classified under “Other Terrorist Groups” – may of them so-called bandit groups – were found to have a Fulani background, such that they too could be considered as affiliated to FEM. It follows that the affiliates of FEM may be a much larger factor in violence than Boko Haram and ISWAP combined.
Christians subjected to worse captivity conditions
ORFA also noted that reports since 2015 showed differences in the respective captivity experiences of Christian and Muslim victims, with Christians more likely to face forced labor, sexual violence, higher ransom amounts, and religious tests.
He's either blind or a liar.
Ping
Sad. And very disheartening.
Well, he also got mad when an Israeli tank round shanked badly, went off course mid-flight, and nailed a church spire because Hamas had put it’s HQ right on Church property in Gaza.
So he had time to protest that, too.
We will now all see that ice chunk in Heaven.
He’s a liar. And pure scum.
Genocide?
Crickets from the anti-Semite crowd (see tagline) who are quick to blame Jews for absolutely anything, and continuously silent about actual genocide against Christians elsewhere.
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