Over 3.5Million Displaced As Christian Persecution Worsens In Nigeria, Global Report Warns | Sahara Reporters

ACN said none of the countries examined recorded an improvement compared with the previous reporting period.

More than 220 million Christians worldwide are facing the most severe forms of religious persecution, with violence and restrictions worsening across several countries, according to a new report by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

The Catholic charity said persecution or oppression of Christians has deteriorated in 55% of the 18 countries assessed in its latest report, Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for Their Faith 2024–2026.

Published on October 27, the report warned that about 413 million Christians live in countries where religious freedom is seriously violated, exposing millions to violence, discrimination, forced displacement, detention and other abuses.

ACN said none of the countries examined recorded an improvement compared with the previous reporting period.

The organisation described sub-Saharan Africa as one of the principal centres of violent extremist activity, while warning that authoritarian repression and religious nationalism were also worsening conditions for Christians in parts of Asia, according to Vatican News.

The report cited Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mozambique among African countries where Christian communities have suffered killings, displacement and attacks by extremist groups.

In Nigeria, ACN highlighted the experiences of Christians abducted by armed groups, including Solomon Ako, a 33-year-old Christian from northern Nigeria who was kidnapped during an attack on his village near Zaria.

Ako told ACN that his captors demanded that he and other hostages abandon Christianity.

According to his account, the captives were beaten, chained and subjected to prolonged torture, including being held in cold water while being threatened with death if they refused to convert.

He said prayer helped him and other hostages survive their ordeal.

The report said attacks by militants and radicalised Fulani groups in Nigeria’s Middle Belt had destroyed communities and contributed to the displacement of more than 3.5 million people within the country.

It also referred to the deadly attack in Yelewata, where more than 200 Christians were reportedly killed during an overnight assault.

According to ACN, some victims were hacked to death while others were burned alive inside their homes.

The report linked the persecution of Christians in parts of Africa to the broader expansion of jihadist groups and extremist violence across the continent.

It cited the 2026 Global Terrorism Index and noted that six of the ten countries most affected by terrorism, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Burkina Faso, ACN said jihadist groups, including Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), have expanded their influence and that Christians have been subjected to killings, displacement and restrictions on practising and transmitting their faith.

The report cited the killing of 26 men in the Diocese of Nouna, who were reportedly murdered by having their throats cut.

In Mali, Christian communities have reportedly faced pressure to conform to Islamic rules governing dress and social behaviour, alongside killings and forced displacement.

Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province was also identified as a major area of concern.

ACN said Islamic State-linked militants had continued attacks aimed at establishing an Islamic state governed by Sharia law.

More than 1,000 Christians have reportedly been killed in the region since 2017, while women and children have been abducted during attacks.

The report said persecution in Asia often takes different forms, ranging from state repression to religious extremism and nationalist movements.

In North Korea, ACN said Christians are treated by authorities as a threat to the country’s political system and are forced to practise their faith secretly.

Believers discovered by authorities can face imprisonment, forced labour, torture or execution.

The report also pointed to China, where it said the government’s policy of religious “sinicisation” has placed increasing pressure on Christian communities to conform to state ideology and officially approved religious structures.

ACN said restrictions on religious activity online had also intensified, while members of underground churches who reject government control risk arrest, detention and the demolition of churches.

India was another country highlighted by the report, with ACN citing more than 700 incidents involving Christians in 2025.

The organisation said Hindu nationalist rhetoric and anti-conversion laws in some Indian states had contributed to an increasingly hostile environment.

It said Christians had faced attacks during religious services, physical assaults and difficulties securing burial rights for deceased relatives.

In Pakistan, ACN raised concerns over the abduction of girls from religious minority communities, forced conversions and coerced marriages.

The report said some cases were compounded by court decisions that allegedly prioritised interpretations of Islamic law over civil protections.

ACN also warned about the continued decline and insecurity of Christian communities in the Middle East, describing the region as the historic homeland of Christianity.

In Syria, the report said Christians remained vulnerable following years of conflict, emigration and political upheaval.

It pointed to the June 22, 2025 suicide bombing at Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus, which killed 25 people and injured more than 60 others.

The attack, according to the report, underscored continuing security concerns confronting Christian communities in the country.

ACN also identified Nicaragua as a major example of state persecution of the Catholic Church outside Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The report accused President Daniel Ortega’s government of systematically restricting the Church through property seizures, the closure of religious institutions and the expulsion of clergy.

It said hundreds of members of the clergy had been affected, including the president of the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference, who was exiled in November 2024.

The report further alleged that authorities had prevented people carrying Bibles from entering Nicaragua. ACN warns against ignoring religious dimension

The organisation said the international response to attacks on Christians was often weakened by the failure to recognise religious persecution as a central element of the violence.

Marta Petrosillo, director of the ACN report, said the statistics represented real people and families whose suffering should not be forgotten

“Behind these stark figures are faces, people and families,” Petrosillo said.

She said ACN had spent two decades documenting persecution and bringing the experiences of affected Christian communities to international attention.

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, also warned that hostility towards Christians was frequently overlooked in international media coverage.

According to the ACN report, attacks against Christians are sometimes explained primarily through ethnic tensions, disputes over land and resources or political instability, even when the perpetrators and victims identify religion as a major factor.

The organisation warned that such framing could obscure the vulnerability of Christian minorities living in areas where they have limited protection and rights.

For survivors such as Ako, however, faith remained a source of resilience.

Recalling his captivity, he said he and other hostages prayed at night while their captors slept.

Ako said the prayers helped them endure the abuse and gave them confidence that they had not been abandoned.