Nigeria: Horrific death toll of Christians

The Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) has called for the Nigerian government to strengthen religious rights, following their discovery that Christians have been the most violently persecuted group in Nigeria during the last four years.

A study by ORFA revealed that 16,700 Christians have been violently killed out of an overall civilian total of 55,900, mainly by Islamist extremists. This makes them the most discriminated-against people group in the country. Other groups to feature high on the list were security forces and terror group members.

ORFA has called on the Nigerian government to provide greater protections for freedom of religion for civilians and greater support for victims of violence, as well as better training for the police and armed forces, which it hopes will reduce the violence against vulnerable people groups.