Hudson Forum: “Christians Killed 5 To 1” Nigerian Rights Lawyer Tells United States Audience the Violence is Genocide

Our Correspondent

Nigerian human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe told a Washington audience this week that Christians in Nigeria are being killed at a rate of “five to one” and that what is happening amounts to genocide, not just general insecurity.

Speaking at a Hudson Institute Nigeria event, Ogebe said the international community must stop treating the killings as random terrorism and confront the religious targeting head-on.

“Let’s focus on ending the genocide,” Ogebe said during the audience question-and-answer.

“You cannot look at the Christian side and say, ‘Hey, the Christian terrorists are fighting Muslims.’ It’s not real.”

Ogebe cited data from the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, ORFA, and from the Church of the Brethren, known as Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, EYN.

He told the panel that as far back as 2015, one church had already lost 10,000 named members. When he reached out again in December 2025, the number had risen to over 20,000 killed.

The church also suffered directly in the Chibok abductions. “Over 200 of the Chibok girls were from that church alone. 80 of them are still missing 12 years later,” Ogebe said.

He described it as “the single largest casualty of any church in the world in contemporary Christendom. It is not equivalent.”

Responding to a question on whether the violence affects all Nigerians equally, fellow panellist Greg said Muslims who oppose extremist groups are also attacked.

“If you preach against what Boko Haram, Ansaru and ISWAP do on Friday in the mosque, by Saturday you have a target on your back.”

But he added: “There are not that many of them, and Christians certainly aren’t going door to door killing people. So, it isn’t equivalent. I don’t think there’s going to be a wave of Christian reprisal against Muslims for what’s happening. That’s just not how they operate.”

Former US diplomat Tibor noted that in Borno State, where Boko Haram started, early data showed more Muslim casualties, and that kidnapping numbers are higher among Muslims in the northwest simply because of population size. The moderator said the crises “overlap… but they also have discrete elements.”

The panel also addressed the impact of USAID reductions.

Ogebe said USAID previously spent close to $500 million annually in Nigeria, including millions on “interfaith dialogue and peacebuilding.” “Has Boko Haram shown up to any of your conferences?” he asked. “I didn’t get a reply.”

He welcomed a new direction from Washington: a recent call for proposals to aid victims of persecution and a $200 million commitment to work through faith-based organizations on health. “It doesn’t rise to the level of the half billion… but it’s getting there.”

With Nigeria heading toward 2027, panellists warned that internally displaced Christians face disenfranchisement.

Ogebe said over 2 million IDPs are in Benue State alone, many of them Christians whose communities have been emptied by attacks. He alleged that in 2023, votes were even recorded in villages that no longer exist.

He called on the US government to deploy a technical team now to help Nigeria protect election integrity and ensure IDPs can vote. “Their lands have been stolen, and their votes are being stolen while they’re displaced,” he said.

Ogebe also urged consequences for electoral fraud. Citing a recent state election where over 30 people were killed, he said: “If we lose 30 people in one state alone, what will happen when we have elections across 36 states? 30 people times 36, that’s not a good number.”

He traced part of the crisis to a long history, noting: “The Fulani jihad was in 1804, and it’s still on… probably the world’s longest-running war at 222 years.”

The Hudson Institute event closed with a call for prayer and policy action. “Nigeria is a massively important country,” the moderator said. “We really want the violence to stop. That’s the bottom line.”

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