The United Nations Human Rights Office has voiced deep concern over escalating violence targeting Christians and other religious minorities in northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt. In a statement released Monday, the OHCHR detailed reports of killings, abductions, sexual violence, and forced religious conversions.
The deteriorating security situation, the office said, has allowed extremist groups and armed actors to operate with near impunity, leaving civilians unprotected. Victims and survivors, the statement emphasized, deserve justice, reparations, and effective safeguards.
According to the UN body, religious minorities face sustained attacks, including assaults on places of worship, mass displacement, and mob violence often linked to blasphemy accusations. Women and girls are especially vulnerable, facing abduction, sexual exploitation, forced marriages, and coerced conversions. The OHCHR noted that those who resist these abuses are frequently threatened, punished, or killed.
The statement referenced specific cases submitted to Nigerian authorities, including the abduction and sexual assault of girls from a church in Borno State, forced conversions and child marriages in Bauchi State, and an attack on a 16-year-old girl whose hand was reportedly severed after her family rejected a forced marriage proposal. These incidents, the UN said, reflect a broader pattern of violence affecting communities across northern Nigeria, including village attacks, insecurity in displacement camps, and ongoing communal clashes.
Displaced women and girls remain at heightened risk of exploitation, with some allegedly forced into sexual acts in exchange for food or basic necessities. Others reportedly hide their religious identity to avoid attacks. The UN warned that if these allegations are confirmed, they could constitute serious violations of international human rights law.
The OHCHR urged Nigerian authorities to protect vulnerable communities, secure the release of abducted victims, conduct independent investigations, and prosecute perpetrators. The statement stressed that impunity for these crimes only exacerbates violence and called for urgent measures to prevent further abuses and ensure accountability.