Every day, 35 Christians are killed in Nigeria. MEPs are finally demanding action but will the EU step up before thousands more die?
Alexandra Tompson
Oct 22, 2025 - 1:22 PM
Share
Daily Bloodshed
Every day, Christians in Nigeria are butchered for their faith. A new report by the Nigeria-based rights group Intersociety estimates that more than 7,000 have been killed in 2025 alone. That’s 35 people every single day. Since 2009, jihadist factions like Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Fulani militias have torched entire villages, kidnapped civilians, and levelled over 19,000 churches. Millions now live in makeshift camps, stripped of food, water, and hope.
The scale is staggering. The silence is worse. Nigeria’s constitution may promise freedom of religion, yet Open Doors ranks it one of the most dangerous countries on earth for Christians. And Europe? Europe looks away.
Brussels Breaks Its Silence
That silence was finally broken this week when 30 Members of the European Parliament submitted a formal written question (E-004121/2025, Rule 144) to EU High Representative Kaja Kallas. They demanded to know what, if anything, the European External Action Service (EEAS) is doing to confront what they describe as a “systematic campaign of violence targeting Christian communities in Nigeria.”
Their questions were blunt:
- What action is the EEAS taking to address the systematic killing and displacement of Christians in Nigeria?
- Is the EU pressing the Nigerian government to confront its persistent failure to act against known perpetrators of anti-Christian violence?
The initiative was led by Portuguese MEP Ana Miguel Pedro (CDS-PP/EPP), a member of the Parliament’s Home Affairs (LIBE), Foreign Affairs (AFET), Constitutional Affairs (AFCO), and European Democracy Shield (EUDS) committees.
“Nigeria is a strategic partner for the EU on energy, migration, and security in the Sahel. The lack of a firm state response has created a power vacuum exploited by jihadist groups. ISIS affiliates have turned Nigeria into a hub of organized persecution, a pattern now spreading across Africa. When the state fails to act, extremism takes over,” Pedro said.
Signatories include François-Xavier Bellamy, Assita Kanko, López-Istúriz White, Tobiasz Bochenski, and Massimiliano Salini - a cross-party coalition underscoring that this is no partisan crusade. Their initiative represents a moment of moral unity in Brussels, as MEPs from the EPP, ECR, and a Vice-Chair of PfE have joined forces to call out Europe’s indifference to the suffering of Nigerian Christians. Highlighting the scale of the West’s silence, Charlie Weimers, Vice-Chair of the ECR Group (Sweden) pointedly warned:
“The West stays silent on over 52,000 Nigerian Christians slaughtered by Islamists since 2009. If reversed, the left and media would erupt. This is hypocritical silence.”
As to the broader failure of the European mainstream to acknowledge these atrocities, Tânger Correa of the PfE Group (Portugal) added:
“I am deeply disturbed by the relentless persecution of Christians in Nigeria and across the world (namely North of Mozambique). The European mainstream’s silence — its refusal even to name Christians as victims — is itself an abdication of truth. We cannot tolerate this denial of reality. Recognizing and confronting this systematic violence is not only a moral duty but the first essential step toward justice and human dignity.”
For years, Nigerian authorities have been accused of inaction or worse, complicity in these massacres. Villages often report receiving no response from security forces, even when attacks are announced in advance. In response to recent U.S. allegations suggesting possible acts of genocide, the Nigerian Senate established a 12-member ad-hoc committee to investigate claims of state-supported persecution. Tasked with producing a fact-based report, the panel will advise both the legislature and the Executive, and engage with U.S. lawmakers. However, it is already clear that Nigeria's Federal Government openly rejects accusations of Christian genocide.
Europe’s Moral Test
This is not a tragedy unfolding on some distant frontier. Nigeria is an important partner for the European Union; a major player in West African security, a partner in migration management, and a significant source of energy. Yet Brussels continues to compartmentalize: business as usual with Abuja, even as Christians are hunted for their faith.
Europe cannot claim to champion human rights while ignoring this slaughter. As one of Nigeria’s key international partners, the EU has leverage, and with leverage comes responsibility. Religious minorities should be protected, not traded away for crude oil, migration deals, or political convenience.
If the EU truly believes in freedom of religion and belief, it must act, and act decisively. When thousands are murdered for their faith and Europe looks away, neutrality is no longer neutrality. It is complicity.
