Faith on the frontlines: Nigeria’s Christian martyrs

By Ryan Brown, Op-ed contributor Sunday, October 13, 2024

One morning, Barnabas was walking on his farm with his brother, Everen, and his wife, Friday. Barnabas was a pastor in Nigeria, where he and his family worked peacefully to serve those around them.

But that morning was anything but peaceful.

Suddenly, gunfire erupted all around them. They had been quietly surrounded by Fulani militants who sprang upon them with guns, machetes, and sticks. The three tried to run, but Everen and Friday were cut down as they ran.

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Terror-stricken, Barnabas kept running, followed closely by one of the militants, who smashed the pastor’s hand trying to catch him. Barnabas managed to escape, but he carried with him physical and emotional scars.

He left behind him the bodies of his wife and brother, and a home and village reduced to ashes. “I have lost everything that I had,” he says. “Everything in my home and village was burnt; I was left with nothing.”

Five years later, Pastor Barnabas is living in a makeshift tent in a camp for IDPs (internally displaced persons). Most of the Christians in the camp fled because of violence that has targeted their communities. He says: “We are displaced because of violence. The news doesn’t care about it, politicians don’t talk about it, we are remaining in darkness … being forgotten, being disregarded.”

Today, Pastor Barnabas is a minister for thousands of Christians in the camp. He speaks of the appalling living conditions and the risk of violence. “We don’t have good hygiene, water, toilets [or] sanitation. Many people are dying ... People only live here because it’s worse outside the camps – because of the horrendous persecution that has displaced them.”

Pastor Barnabas’s story is not isolated.

In 2023, at least 95% of Christians killed for their faith were in sub-Saharan Africa — most in Nigeria. The country ranks sixth on the World Watch List for religious persecution against Christians. From 2019 to 2023, over 25,000 civilians lost their lives in more than 4,600 attacks. At least 16,000 of these victims were Christians.

The violence is relentless, tearing families apart, displacing entire communities. In Nigeria, there are now over 3.4 million people who have had to flee their homes to escape violent persecution and armed conflict. In fact, a new report from Open Doors — an international ministry with the mission to strengthen persecuted Christians — shows the reality of how Christians are marginalized and persecuted in the context of violence and forced displacement.

This isn’t accidental chaos; it’s a deliberate strategy. Militants target Christian communities, driving them from their homes, so that the regions can be taken over by extremists from Islam or other religions.

Local and national governments in Nigeria are either downplaying the issue, failing to respond adequately to incidents, or even worsening the problem by pressuring Christians to return to their homes where they may be killed or abducted for ransom.

It's easy to look at violence at such a scale — or tragedies far away — and feel overwhelmed by it. Since we can’t do everything, it’s tempting to do nothing.

That’s why I’m doing what Christians have always done when their brothers and sisters in another church are struggling: I’m praying. I ask that you join me. We’ve started a multi-year prayer campaign specifically for Christians in sub-Saharan Africa — so take the next step and pray. Pray for Pastor Barnabas, for the displaced families, for the forgotten. Pray for Nigeria, where faith is a battleground. Pray for healing, restoration, and justice. Our prayers are not empty words; they are lifelines to those clinging to hope.