- In an urgency resolution debated Wednesday and passed Thursday in an overwhelming vote of 510 to 1 in support, the European Parliament called for an end to the escalating persecution of Christians in Nigeria, citing the recent massacre in Kawel village, Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau State, where jihadist Fulani militants killed over 20 Christians, including a local pastor, in an overnight raid on 22 June.
The attack on Kawel is among the latest in a long pattern of targeted violence against Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Residents said Fulani militants entered the village after midnight, moving door to door and shooting anyone who came outside. Among those killed was Rev. Markus Nyam, pastor of the Church of Christ in Nations, along with members of his congregation.
“No community should have to bury its pastor and its children because they follow Christ. The massacre in Kawel is not an isolated tragedy. It is part of a devastating and well-documented pattern of violence against Christians in Nigeria,” said Sean Nelson, Senior Counsel for Global Religious Freedom at Alliance Defending Freedom.
“We commend the European Parliament for continuing to hold Nigeria accountable to protect the Christians and religious minorities who have faced relentless violence and persecution for far too long, particularly in the Middle Belt region where the persecution of Christians is most devastating.”
The resolution strongly condemns the Kawel massacre and calls on the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU to “pay particular attention to the deteriorating situation of Christians and all persecuted religious communities in Nigeria. The resolution also calls on the Nigerian authorities to prosecute those responsible for attacks, to “strengthen both counterterrorism operations against armed militants, particularly in the Middle Belt region, and efforts to counter Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province”, and to improve early-warning systems and adequately address the situation of internally displaced persons.
During debate remarks, MEP Miriam Lexmann, Co-Chair of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Freedom of Religion, Belief and Conscience, stated, “Across the country, Christians face repeated attacks by Fulani militants, Boko Haram and other organized groups. Violence is part of a broader and deeply worrying pattern of persecution.”
Thursday’s resolution follows a series of European Parliament interventions on Nigeria. In April 2023, MEPs voted 550 to 7 in an urgency resolution calling for the release of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Sufi musician facing the death penalty under Kano State’s Sharia blasphemy law over song lyrics shared on WhatsApp. Sharif-Aminu’s case, supported by Alliance Defending Freedom, remains delayed before the Supreme Court of Nigeria and could overturn blasphemy laws across the country’s northern states. In a rare move, the European Parliament adopted a second urgency resolution in February 2025 on Sharif-Aminu’s case, again calling for his immediate release and to bring an end to the country’s blasphemy laws.
“Over the past several years, Parliament has repeatedly debated and adopted resolutions condemning the persecution of Christians and religious minorities in Nigeria. The fact that it must keep returning to this issue speaks to the sheer scale and severity of the violence and fear these communities face daily,” said Adina Portaru, Senior Counsel for Europe at Alliance Defending Freedom. “As long as these attacks continue and Nigeria fails to uphold its religious freedom commitments, international instituitons will have no choice but to keep addressing the crisis.”
In February 2024, Parliament again passed an urgency resolution after Fulani militants killed at least 195 Christians across more than 20 communities in Plateau State over the 2023 Christmas period. Alliance Defending Freedom has also supported the defense of Rhoda Jatau, a Christian woman prosecuted after allegedly condemning on social media the 2022 mob killing of student Deborah Yakubu, who was beaten and burned to death by classmates over a blasphemy accusation.
In December 2025, the body called on Nigeria to strengthen protections for Christians, particularly in schools, following a mass kidnapping of over 300 students and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.
Persecution in Nigeria
Nigeria remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians. At least 3,490 Christians were killed for their faith in 2025 alone, adding to the estimated 50,000 to 100,000 Christian deaths since Boko Haram’s insurgency began in 2009. Thousands of churches have been attacked or destroyed. Alliance Defending Freedom works with allied lawyers in Nigeria to defend Christians and other religious minorities facing severe violations of religious freedom, including blasphemy charges, and works globally to advance religious freedom protections in the country.
