By DAYO ADESULU
UN event draws global attention to Nigeria’s rising religious-violence crisis
The killings of Christians in Nigeria have again taken center stage on the global stage as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, declared that the pattern of violence in the country now amounts to “genocide wearing the mask of chaos.” His remarks, delivered on Tuesday at a high-level event organized by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, intensified international scrutiny of Nigeria’s spiraling security breakdown and the targeted attacks on Christian communities.
Speaking before diplomats, human-rights advocates and security researchers, Waltz said evidence from field investigations and independent monitors shows that Christian communities face disproportionate suffering in several parts of Nigeria. According to him, the killings of Christians in Nigeria have followed a consistent pattern marked by village raids, clergy assassinations, mass displacement and the destruction of worship centers.
“There is a body of evidence you will hear from our experts today,” Waltz said. “It paints a very grim picture of disproportionate suffering among Christians, where families are torn apart, clergy are repeatedly assassinated and entire congregations wiped out. Folks, we have an entire faith being erased — one bullet at a time, one torched Bible at a time.”
His description raised the stakes in a debate that has raged for years but has rarely been addressed with this level of diplomatic bluntness by a senior U.S. official.
Nicki Minaj joins call for global action
In a remarkable twist that drew even more international attention, American rap star Nicki Minaj also addressed the gathering. She said she felt compelled to speak because the killings of Christians in Nigeria represent a humanitarian emergency, not a distant geopolitical argument.
“In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed,” she said. “Churches have been burned. Families torn apart. Entire communities now live in fear simply because of how they pray.”
Minaj’s appearance — arranged with the support of American political strategist Alex Bruesewitz — marked one of the most high-profile celebrity interventions in Nigeria’s religious-violence crisis. Her comments quickly trended across social platforms, drawing public reactions from Nigerians at home and abroad.
Global concern rises as Nigeria rejects accusations
The event came just weeks after heightened international pressure over the killings of Christians in Nigeria. Earlier this year, former U.S. President Donald Trump described Nigeria as “a country of particular concern” due to the rising violence and the government’s alleged failure to protect religious minorities. Trump also warned that the United States could consider direct military action if the killings continue unchecked.
Nigeria’s government has consistently rejected claims of religious persecution. Officials argue that criminality, terrorism and communal disputes — not religious identity — drive most violent incidents. They insist the security agencies respond to all attacks without discrimination.
However, rights groups and independent analysts say the data tells a different story. They argue that Christian communities in parts of the Middle Belt and North-East suffer targeted killings, kidnappings and church attacks at a rate that suggests systematic persecution.
A crisis long ignored
The UN event underscored a painful truth: the killings of Christians in Nigeria have escalated for more than a decade without decisive intervention. From mass abductions in Kaduna and Plateau to village massacres in Benue and Southern Kaduna, the cycle of violence keeps intensifying.
Security analysts at the UN-backed discussion noted that attackers often operate for hours without challenge. In several regions, communities rely on vigilantes because state security presence remains thin. Entire congregations have fled ancestral homes, leaving behind abandoned farms, empty worship centers and burnt-out neighborhoods.
Diplomatic pressure mounts
Waltz urged the international community to adopt a coordinated response that includes sanctions, diplomatic pressure and targeted humanitarian support for vulnerable Christian communities. He warned that silence or hesitation would embolden perpetrators and deepen Nigeria’s instability.
“This crisis will not resolve itself,” he said. “The world must act before more lives are erased.”
The United States Mission announced that it will release a detailed situation brief outlining patterns of violence, documented attacks on churches and recommendations for international action.
As global attention intensifies, Nigerian authorities face increasing pressure to break the cycle of killings and rebuild trust with communities that feel abandoned.
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