Top countries where Christians are suffering, experiencing supernatural: 'Count the cost'

'The Holy Spirit is at work, thanks to your prayers'

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, January 17, 2026

Nigeria: 'They cut them to pieces'

Nigeria, a West African country of approximately 230 million people, is the global epicenter of deadly violence against Christians, according to multiple reports. Of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during the reporting period cited by Open Doors, 3,490 were Nigerian, which marks an increase from 3,100 last year.

Nearly 15 million people have been displaced and forced to flee their homes because of persecution, with a high number of them being Christians, according to a report from the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law.

Christians are especially hated in the country's northern states, 12 of which have implemented Sharia law. Violence from Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has spilled over into the country's southern region, where Christians are often subjected to brutality.

The Rev. Yakubu Muton, a Nigerian pastor, recounted to Global Christian Relief how he hid with his goats as he listened to nine Christians being hacked to death in his rectory. "We were hearing their noise, hearing their cries before they killed them. And they killed them. They cut them to pieces. They burned them," he said.

The full scale of the violence is likely impossible to discern in Nigeria, where religious identity is often underreported, large regions are inaccessible and many incidents cannot be independently verified.

Watch: Open Doors US CEO Ryan Brown breaks down the World Watch List report 

The plight of Nigerian Christians has drawn the attention of the world, prompting the U.S. State Department to officially update its designation for Nigeria as a "Country of Particular Concern" in November. On Christmas Day, the U.S. military worked with the Nigerian government to exert military force against Islamic State militants in the country, following public outrage from President Donald Trump.