Murder of Nigerian Christians ignored, says Irish missionary

6th July 2022

Ongoing, brutal attacks on Christians in Nigeria, including murder, are being ignored by the Nigerian Government while the Irish, EU and other governments do little to respond.

That’s according to the leader of an Irish missionary society that has worked for years in the country.

Writing in the Irish Times, Sr Kathleen McGarvey of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles says the growing power and influence of Islamist militant groups, as well as the widespread and increasing targeting of Christians in the country, presents an urgent situation that demands attention.

“[The Militants] savagely attack Christian-populated villages, shoot and use machetes to kill all in sight including children, kidnap and demand high ransoms, which even when paid do not assure safe release. They often circulate menacing videos of beheadings, allow public lynching for supposed “blasphemy”, make travel by road and even by rail totally insecure, attack and burn churches and other Christian symbols of identity,” she writes.

Despite this, she says the reality that Christians are being routinely targeted is denied by the Nigerian administration. She adds that this “should not continue to be ignored by Irish, EU and other governments”.