On March 25th, 2025, the Aid to the Church in Need, UK, invited Bishop Wilfred Anagbe
and Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Nigeria, to speak in the House of Lords. Lord Alton of Liverpool chaired the event.
Among those in attendance were Bishop Philip Mounstephen, MPs including the Special Envoy for FoRB, friends of the ACN, advocates, and stakeholders to the APPG FoRB.
The bishops brought reports and evidences of crimes against Christians throughout their dioceses. Their insight into the drivers of the conflicts and the continued boasting of extremist groups proves necessary for members of Parliament to understand the pleas of those experiencing violence, murder, mass displacement, and lack of basic needs.
The Bishops’ requests for a durable solution are simple.
-Grant security for Nigerians to return to their ancestral lands.
-Describe the forces behind this conflict with clarity—moving beyond an attribution to climate change, recognizing the ideological expansionisms and religious persecution.
The ACN reported on its fact-finding mission to Nigeria in which 100s of interviewees living in displacement camps expressed the reasons behind the mass displacement and continued widespread persecution and pain. There were common themes throughout the interviews which attributed these conditions, in conjunction with religious reasons, to the lack of economic growth, a record amount of debt, and the devaluation of Nigerian currency by corrupt measures.
To put this into context, rice used to cost 10,000 naira and now costs 100,000.
And yet, Nigeria is known for its fertile land and agricultural production, particularly of crops like maize, wheat, and other staples. Those people who are displaced are far from their homelands and unable to produce sustenance due to the ever present and increasing violence hindering them from returning to their lands.
We note an increase in the number of states worldwide whose adherents to Christianity are now treated as criminals. Nigeria is but one of many states in which FoRB violations go unpunished.
The UK’s stance is that these incidents are distinct from the ongoing intercommunal violence elsewhere in Nigeria.
“With the combination of economic collapse, corruption and poor government, there is a real danger that this violence could further escalate as we are not seeing any improvements in any of those factors at the moment,” reported Banks from ACN. It is of interest to all to raise a voice and demonstrate support for an inter-faith approach to upholding the human right to FoRB.
Recent written questions raised on FoRB in Nigeria:
Satvir Kaur
Wendy Morton
Jim Shannon
Lord Alton
Tom Morrison, Tom Morrison
