The Christian Genocide No One Names

When violence becomes so relentless that Bill Maher, a self-proclaimed atheist, emerges as one of its most notable commentators, you know something is deeply wrong. On a recent episode of Real Time, Maher spoke candidly about the genocide against Christians in Nigeria. Rather than covering the crisis, outlets such as Al Jazeera, long accused of sympathies with Islamist extremism, tried to paint Maher as a liar. But he is not, the slaughter is real, and the evidence lies in the blood-soaked villages across Nigeria’s north.

Late last month, insurgents descended on the Christian community of Wagga Mongoro in Adamawa State under the cover of night. They killed four believers and wounded many more. They set homes, shops, and a church on fire. In early August, in Benue State, armed men carried out coordinated raids on farming villages. Over five days, at least nine Christians were killed. In June, also in Benue, more than 200 Christians were slaughtered in a single weekend. Militants swept through villages, torching houses, murdering without mercy, and driving survivors into the bush. Families laid their children in shallow graves. Those who escaped fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Christian leaders and human rights groups have long warned of a “slow-motion genocide” unfolding in Nigeria. The killers are not faceless but the same savage armies of terror that have plagued Nigeria for years: Boko Haram, the Islamic State in West Africa Province, and radicalized Fulani militias. United by their hatred of Christianity, they march with one aim: to drive believers from their ancestral lands and impose Islamist rule. Under former president Muhammadu Buhari, their power only grew as they carved out territory. The state, meanwhile, stood accused not just of negligence but of quiet complicity. Soldiers arrived late, if they arrived at all. Too many officials averted their eyes as villages burned and congregations were butchered.

The scale of this violence defies comprehension. Since 2009, more than 50,000 Christians have been killed. Churches reduced to ash. Schools erased. Villages emptied. Priests hacked to death at their altars. Worshippers executed in pews. Families ambushed as they slept. These are not isolated crimes but the hallmarks of a campaign of extermination. Yet in much of the Western press, the story rarely breaches the front page. Hundreds of Christians killed in Africa is dismissed as a “local dispute”. Utter nonsense. This is genocide: organized, relentless, and carried out with the clear intent to destroy those who refuse to bow to Allah.

The silence reflects an indifference to slaughter. Since 2015, the United States has poured $7.8 billion in foreign aid into Nigeria, making it one of Washington’s largest recipients. That money was meant to bring development, health, and stability. But stability has not come. Instead, Christians have been abandoned to the machete and the rifle while Islamist militants grow in power. Why should a government that pockets billions in U.S. assistance be allowed to preside over genocide?

Aid should not be unconditional. It should demand accountability, and America must suspend assistance or tie every dollar to action: the protection of Christian communities, the prosecution of terrorists, and the dismantling of Islamist networks. Anything less makes American taxpayers silent partners in the slaughter.

Nigeria is not alone. Across Africa, Christian communities are under siege.  In the Democratic Republic of Congo, ISIS-linked rebels have massacred thousands. In Burkina Faso, churches stand in ruins; pastors are kidnapped and killed. In Mozambique, whole communities have been wiped out. The pattern is unmistakable. We are witnessing a continent-wide assault on Christianity.

But Nigeria is different. It is Africa’s most populous country, its largest economy, and its political engine. What happens in Nigeria shapes the whole region. To confront its crisis is to confront the wider African tragedy. To pressure its leaders is to send a warning to others: the slaughter of Christians will no longer be tolerated, and aid will not flow to governments that permit it.

For years, Western leaders have sermonized about the poor, the voiceless, and the marginalized. However, when Christians are crucified, somewhat suspiciously, the elites turn their backs. A faith that once formed the backbone of Western civilization is now mocked and maligned. The West must decide whether its values still carry any weight. It cannot preach human rights while Christians are slain in their sleep. It cannot boast of progress while women and children are brutalized. If aid continues, it must be tied to action. Either protect the Christians being hunted, or lose the partnership.

Nigeria now stands at a crossroads. It can choose to course-correct or sink deeper into destruction and despair. The choice lies not only with its leaders but with the nations that bankroll them. America and its allies must end the excuses, abandon the cowardice, and demand results. And they must do so without delay, even as propaganda outlets such as Al Jazeera distract, distort, and deny.