During a recent visit to the Vatican, Nigeria’s bishops spoke to the Holy Father about the situation facing the Church in Nigeria.
More than 70 bishops were present in the Eternal City for their ad limina pilgrimage, a mandatory meeting with the Holy Father for diocesan bishops held approximately every five years.
Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso, Archbishop of Kaduna, told EWTN: “Before we came to Rome, we bishops sent reports on our dioceses to the Vatican, and the summary was given to the Holy Father.” He continued: “But beyond what was written, we discussed with him the violence, the insurgencies, and the difficulties we face as apostles on the ground.”
Cardinal John Onaiyekan, one of the country’s four cardinals and Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, also met the Holy Father on March 1 and told the news agency Aleteia: “No one is safe in Nigeria today, whether Christian or Muslim.” He added: “We’ve come to speak on behalf of all Nigerians who are suffering and wish to live in peace, whether they are Christians or Muslims.”
While Nigeria has a long history of religious violence, attacks against Christians have increased in the 21st century. Boko Haram, founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf and opposed to Western influence in favour of an Islamic state in Nigeria, has been a major cause of the violence. Tensions escalated in 2009 when Boko Haram launched its insurgency in the north-east, with massacres of Christians increasing.
According to Open Doors, in 2024 Nigeria was the country with the highest number of Christians killed for their faith, with 3,100 killed.
Alongside the killings, Christians have also been systematically targeted for kidnapping, with 2,830 abducted in 2024. Children have repeatedly been among the victims. In November 2025, more than 300 children and staff from a Catholic school in Niger State were abducted. Similarly, in 2024, nearly 300 students were abducted in another mass incident in Kaduna State.
In 2021, armed groups abducted students from Greenfield University, killing several captives, while in the same year more than 140 pupils were taken from Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna. In 2014, perhaps the most widely known incident occurred when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from Chibok, many of whom remain missing.
The scale of the persecution has led Open Doors to identify Nigeria as the country with the highest number of Christians killed for their faith.
