(CP) Boko Haram militants shot Suzanne in the top because the Christian woman attended a field, murdering her father and robbing her of eyesight in an attack that exemplified the persistent violence impacting Nigerian people of religion within the last several years.
Nearly 10,000 Nigerian Christians (9,814) died by the hands of Boko Haram and other Islamic extremist groups between November 2022 and November 2024, in response to the newly released 2025 Global Christian Relief Red List. The data for the Red List comes from the Violent Incidents Database maintained by GCR, a U.S.-based nonprofit monitoring Christian persecution worldwide.
Suzanne’s story, featured within the report, included a prayer for Christians in Nigeria, which advocates have warned for years have faced genocidal violence in a rustic marred by Islamic extremism, ethnic violence and crime.
The Christian woman, who must now depend on her husband to be her eyes, prays that the Boko Haram militants who attacked her will come to just accept Jesus sooner or later.
“God, our hearts exit to the relations of those that have been senselessly killed,” the GCR prayer reads. “Please shield Nigerian Christians like Suzanne from harm and luxury them of their loss.”
“Cause Nigeria’s politicians to enact policies that may protect believers from religious extremism,” the prayer continued. “Stop the bloodshed and convey peace to the land. Amen.”
GCR previously highlighted the girl’s testimony in April 2024, with the persecuted Christian recounting the day that Boko Haram left her for dead. As the Red List report noted, despite losing her father and her vision as a consequence of the extremist group’s actions, Suzanne forgave her attackers.
The Red List purports to be the “first-ever quantifiable and verifiable index exposing the highest offenders of Christian persecution worldwide.” GCR called attention to the 25 worst countries for Christian persecution across multiple categories, including killings, constructing attacks, arrests, displacements, and abductions and assaults. GCR ranked Nigeria in the highest spot in the primary and last categories within the report.
“Most of the killings are concentrated within the northern ‘sharia’ states, where Christians often live in distant villages in semi-arid landscapes, making them particularly vulnerable to attacks,” the report stated.
“Despite government assurances that they are going to defeat the extremists, the violence continues to escalate. Nigeria’s grim statistics are unmatched,” the document continued.
In addition to Boko Haram, Nigerian Christians are targeted by Armed Fulani herdsmen and the Islamic State West Africa Province. The violent groups not only slaughter Christians but in addition create further feelings of terror and unrest by abducting people of religion.
Nigeria topped GCR’s list within the abductions and assaults, with 9,311 going down inside the reporting period spanning November 2022 to 2024. The abductions often result in ransom requests, which siphon wealth from Christian communities to fund organized crime, non-state militias and terrorist organizations.
Church leaders and pastors are frequent targets because a congregation can raise a big sum of money for his or her release. Young women are one other kidnapping goal, as many are snatched to be brides for jihadis.
GCR referred to the practice of kidnapping victims in Nigeria for ransom as a “terrible industry,” citing the report’s findings as evidence of “a transparent and systemic attack designed to funnel money and girls away from Christian communities.”
Regarding the variety of abductions, Nigeria exceeded the opposite countries on the list, including Mexico and Haiti, “by the 1000’s.”
The Democratic Republic of the Congo saw the second most Christians killed during GCR’s reporting period, 390, most of which got here within the Kivu province tormented by Islamic militant groups just like the Allied Democratic Forces.
Facing the rise of the Islamic State Mozambique, the southern African country saw 262 recorded deaths. At least 181 Christians were killed in Ethiopia, where converts often face violence in regions dominated by Islamic militants. Russia ranked fifth with 164 Christian deaths, mostly within the Muslim-majority Dagestan, where Muslim militants are waging war and targeting religious sites.
India, tormented by the rise of Hindu nationalism within the last decade, led the way in which with 4,949 attacks on Christian properties through the reporting period. Mozambique saw not less than 1,600 homes destroyed by the Islamic State Mozambique, which claimed to have also destroyed 18 churches in three weeks.
Amid ongoing civil war, Myanmar ranked third in attacks on Christian properties (1,490). While rating fourth on the list with over 1,200 recorded incidents, Ukraine saw probably the most attacks on churches amid the Russian invasion. Ethiopia saw over 488 instances of violence against Christian properties as Islamic militants have focused attacks on majority-Christian villages.
China led the way in which through the reporting period with 1,559 arrests of Christians. Eritrea ranked second with over 475 confirmed arrests, followed by Nicaragua with not less than 226 arrests. Russia ranked fourth with 224 arrests, mostly of Evangelical Christians. Although North Korea had 208 confirmed arrests, the report states that the overall is probably going only a “fraction” of the general total.
While Nigeria led the way in which with 9,311 recorded abductions and assaults, Mexico was second with 138 verified Christian disappearances in lawless regions. Amid the rise of organized crime and gangs, Haiti saw 101 reported incidents, which include busjackings and kidnapping of pastors from parishes and houses. Cameroon saw 83 incidents, including one incident through which 15 people were kidnapped and held for ransom while on the option to worship.
Across the globe, the report warns that Christian persecution has grown globally since 2014, driven by various influences, including Islamic extremism, Hindu nationalism, authoritarian regimes and government corruption.
“Working closely with our partners on the bottom in these high-risk areas, we offer emergency aid, protected houses, and trauma counseling to Christians facing violent persecution,” Brian Orme, the acting chief executive Global Christian Relief, said in an announcement.
“Despite the extreme challenges in places like Nigeria, China, and India, we proceed to see remarkable resilience in these communities. Even within the darkest circumstances, the Church not only survives but grows stronger—tens of millions are selecting to follow Jesus despite knowing the risks they face.”
The GCR report offered various solutions to deal with the difficulty of Christian persecution worldwide. For Nigeria, the advocacy group advisable that the president of the United States and the secretary of state designate the multinational state as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
Nigeria held this designation in 2020 under the primary Trump administration, which the Biden administration removed in 2021.
“In concert with this designation, the United States should apply targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials answerable for allowing the mass killing of Christians,” GCR advisable.
