NIGERIA Individual Views of Commissioner Gary L. Bauer Individual Views of Commissioner James W. Carr Nigeria is quickly becoming a “killing field” for that nation’s Christians. The hour is late. Nigeria’s government seems unable or unwilling to stop the growing carnage. In large swaths of the country, Christian parents fear for their children every day when they go to school. Those children are targeted by savage Islamists who kidnap and force them to renounce Christ or face death. Every time a Nigerian Christian family worships at a church, they are painfully aware it may be the last thing they do on this earth. The churches are ripe targets for Boko Haram and other jihadists. Christians have been blown up or “mowed” down in their places of worship. All too often this violence is attributed to mere “bandits” or explained away as hostility between farmers and herdsmen. While there is some truth in these assertions, they ignore the main truth: radical Islamists are committing violence inspired by what they believe is a religious imperative to “cleanse” Nigeria of its Christians. They must be stopped. The failure of many in the international human rights community and the Western media to accurately describe what is really happening in Nigeria is inexcusable. More Christians have been killed for their faith in Nigeria in the last year than in the entire Middle East. Unless we find our voice, what is happening in Nigeria will move relentlessly toward a Christian genocide. We are pleased that in December of 2020, the U.S. Department of State finally included Nigeria as a country engaged in egregious violations of religious freedom. Much more must be done. Nigeria was considered by many to have a strong commitment to religious freedom. In the past decade or so, however, religious freedom conditions in Nigeria have significantly worsened. While all religious communities and people of no belief face dangerous conditions, the situation for Christians is extremely perilous. We now regularly read of kidnappings, rapes, and murders that are being committed against the Christian community. Sadly, as we look around the world, many now believe that religious freedom violations in Nigeria may be among the worst in the world, if not the worst. As a Commission member, I am concerned about the country’s inability, or reluctance, to protect the Christian community. I for one believe that Nigeria is better than this and that the Nigerian people and their leaders must step up and recommit themselves to the protection of ALL Nigerians to believe and worship freely as they choose. These atrocities being committed against Christian families must stop. 32 U S C I R F | A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 1 Individual Views of Commissioner Johnnie Moore The persistent facts-be-damned approach to the conflict(s) in Africa’s most populated country has resulted in more loss of life, year in and year out. It is simply incomprehensible to me that proud and beautiful Nigeria remains in its present condition. How long will this continue? The world must do more. The United States must recognize and correct its policy failures. Unfortunately, the perilous situation is now spreading more and more to other countries. Will it take a caliphate in West Africa to awaken the international community? The status quo is unsustainable. This is a tinderbox.