Are religious freedom and peace possible in Nigeria?

A consultation seeks to change the pattern of conflict

Participants in the September consultation coordinated by 21Wilberforce, whose president, Wissam al-Saliby, is in the front row, left of center, in the gray suit. Advocacy and training coordinator Trent Martin is fourth from left. Nigerian advocate Godwin Adeboye, quoted in the blog post below, is in the back row at right, behind the government representative in the gray jacket.

Nigeria ranks seventh on the Open Doors World Watch List of countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian. According to Open Doors, more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country.

You wouldn’t know this by visiting Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, where many of the billboards advertise megachurches. The problems are concentrated in the nation’s “Middle Belt” and largely rural north, where banditry, land disputes, jihadist groups including Boko Haram, Christian-Muslim tensions, and weak governance create high levels of danger.

In September, Wissam al-Saliby, president of 21Wilberforce (a Baptist-oriented human rights organization), traveled to Nigeria for meetings with Christian leaders. Al-Saliby, who engaged with the UN Human Rights Council for six and a half years while heading the World Evangelical Alliance’s Geneva office, believes that religious freedom advocacy depends too much on voices outside the affected countries.

Accordingly, 21Wilberforce has established a goal of building effective local advocacy and peacemaking capacity over the next decade in 10 countries impacted by persecution. Nigeria is the test case. It’s a good place to start, because although the problems are severe, Nigeria has strong Christian leadership and relatively democratic governance.

Nigerian researcher and seminary instructor Godwin Adeboye participated in the consultation and shared these comments:

The 21Wilberforce visit came at a most critical time for us. Living in Nigeria today has become increasingly difficult, as religious identity continues to shape the national debate on violence, insecurity, and marginalization. Numerous efforts have been made to address these challenges, yet many have failed due to the absence of a clear, evidence-based understanding of the problem—its causes, its victims, and its consequences. As a largely oral society, Nigeria has not benefited from systematic, data-driven advocacy that could inform sound policy responses.

The 21Wilberforce initiative represents a bold and timely intervention. It introduces a new model of research-driven advocacy that is directly relevant for policy formulation and peacebuilding, and it does so in collaboration with national and indigenous partners, ensuring local ownership and long-term sustainability. During the consultation, we outlined a clear Memorandum of Understanding, defined the first project phase, and identified strategic partners and objectives. The consultation was a remarkable success, and we look forward to moving into the implementation stage where research, advocacy, and partnership can converge to foster peace and religious freedom in Nigeria.

I asked al-Saliby to share his perspective on the consultation and next steps.

Q&A with Wissam al-Saliby

Describe what you found in the Nigerian church.

I praise God for the church in Nigeria. Nigeria has many vibrant congregations, and we met with many believers who are doing incredible work for God’s kingdom throughout the country. However, Christians in country, especially in the Middle Belt area and the north, often face complex, violent situations.

One positive element is that Christians are part of the political process. I visited with Christian parliamentarians, including the House of Representatives minority leader, Kingsley Chinda, and the chairman of the Christian Legislative Fellowship, Representative Amos Magaji. At an evangelical church where I preached, we met a former Nigerian ambassador to the African Union. Surprisingly, some of the Christian faith leaders we met said they were not even aware of the presence of faithful Christians in the parliament.

We found that Nigeria has excellent researchers and theologians; politicians who are committed evangelicals, skilled at engaging and building bridges; and grassroots pastors who are connected to their communities, with access to the areas where violence and persecution are occurring.

What issues are complicating efforts to reduce conflict and spread peace in Nigeria?

The north-south divide is a major challenge. Northern Nigeria is majority-Muslim; the south is primarily Christian. I heard from Christians in the north who feel their brothers in the south don’t care about what happens to them. I think the actual extent of indifference varies. Some Nigerian denominations are well established in the north and have a good understanding of what is happening there. But overall, the response is limited, due to lack of capacity, lack of political will, or both.

A military-only response is not sufficient. We need a comprehensive, peaceful intervention that includes healthy engagement and building bridges with Muslim neighbors.

International advocacy is important, but it is inconsistent, sometimes driven by domestic priorities, and has not overcome data and reporting gaps. The US Congress and US Commission on International Religious Freedom have held hearings, but they cannot make an impact without stronger domestic Nigerian leadership. By “stronger,” I mean more strategic, better equipped with research and policy recommendations, sustainable, and more influential with the Nigerian government.

There are also other complicating factors. On my previous visit to Nigeria in 2022, the pastor driving me around explained that he had been displaced—not by violence, but because oil company activity had destroyed the seabed where he had made his living by fishing. Also in 2022, a Reuters investigation found that the Nigerian military had conducted a secret, systematic and illegal abortion program in the country’s northeast, ending at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls. Moreover, as the “End SARS” movement highlighted, police brutality is a major problem in Nigeria.

What did you do in Nigeria, and what were the results?

The purpose of our visit was to come alongside Christian ministry leaders and public servants and learn how we can support them toward achieving dignity, human rights, religious freedom, and security in their country. Our purpose was not to tell them we know the solution, or that the West will come and save them—because that will not happen—but to discuss what they feel God is calling them to do and discern how we can assist with our knowledge, connections, and relationships.

We first held a workshop with the Nigerian Baptist Convention’s regional leaders, where we facilitated a conversation around responding to violence and insecurity. After that, we held a consultation with Christian nonprofits. We brought together people who can do field-based research in affected villages with those who have access to government and know the political landscape. During the days of the consultation, we walked with our partners through strategic planning sessions, where together we determined a roadmap for our coalition to focus our joint work on.

21Wilberforce brings two things to the partnership: (1) knowledge and implementation capacity, and (2) a guarantee of quality that outside entities respect. It is very difficult for field workers in Nigeria to understand how to prepare reports in accordance with international standards, just as it is difficult for us or other non-Nigerians to travel to violence-ridden areas and investigate them ourselves. In the first year of our partnership, our coalition decided to support rigorous research and report writing and engage in advocacy to drive the Nigerian government to effective action. Together, we will work to ensure that the voice of the Nigerian church resonates strongly on these critical issues.

What other issues in the Nigerian church do you hope to address?

I see two challenges. The first is the need to understand how to engage with Muslims, build bridges, and fight Islamophobia as well as Islamist extremism. The second is the widespread perception that anything in the political realm is inherently evil and sinful. Every realm that has human beings involved is problematic, not just politics! We live in a fallen world, but God calls us to be peacemakers and justice advocates in that world, including in political spheres.