Western Media Silent As Slaughter of Christians Intensifies in Nigeria

Beneath the silence of the Western press, a genocide is unfolding -- one that has claimed the lives of over 3,100 Christians in Nigeria this year alone. And yet, for all the blood spilled, for all the churches burned and children slain, one would be hard-pressed to find even a whisper of coverage from CNN, the BBC, or The New York Times. The slaughter of Christians, it seems, is not newsworthy in today's media economy.

This past weekend, the village of Yelewata in Nigeria's Benue State was transformed into a furnace of unspeakable horror. Fulani Islamic militants -- part of a foreign-funded and ideologically driven campaign -- stormed homes, locked entire families inside, and set them ablaze. Over 200 Christians, including women and children, were burned alive or butchered in their beds. Entire families erased from the earth in the span of hours.

There were no UN press briefings. No hashtags. No somber journalists anchoring primetime slots with "breaking news."

Instead, there was silence -- the kind of silence that testifies. The kind that damns.

The Yelewata massacre was not an isolated incident. Just days prior, over 130 Christians were murdered across Benue and Plateau states in coordinated attacks. Villages such as Gwer West and Apa were turned into killing fields, their inhabitants hacked down with machetes, their homes razed to ash. From May 24th to June 2nd, the Christian Middle Belt of Nigeria bled without end, as radicalized Fulani herdsmen advanced southward under the green banner of jihad.

These are not roving criminals or scattered thugs. These are militias operating with military precision and religious fervor, often with foreign backing and political impunity. The goal is not land -- it is extermination. And Nigeria's Christian population, especially in the northern and central states, is squarely in the crosshairs.

Since 2009, over 45,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria by Islamic extremists such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Fulani militants. Let that sink in: 45,000 martyrs in one country -- and most Americans have never heard a single name.

This is genocide.

And the silence surrounding it -- especially from Christian communities in the West -- is as heartbreaking as the bloodshed itself.

Where is the outrage from the global Church? Where are the marches, the vigils, the sermons sounding the alarm? Why is the Body of Christ in America asleep while the Body of Christ in Nigeria is being dismembered -- literally?

According to Open Doors, 380 million Christians worldwide now face high levels of persecution -- a number that rose by 15 million in the past year alone. Church attacks have increased 800% since 2018. And yet, the mainstream media continues to filter these tragedies through a political lens that minimizes religious persecution -- especially when the victims are Christian.

Why?

Perhaps it's because acknowledging Christian persecution challenges the prevailing narratives of global oppression. Perhaps it's because the suffering of believers doesn't fit neatly into the ideological categories favored by newsrooms. Or maybe, in a post-Christian West, the plight of those who refuse to renounce Christ simply doesn't inspire sympathy.

But truth is not determined by airtime. And silence does not erase blood.

The reality is this: Christianity is now the most persecuted religion in the world. And nowhere is that more painfully clear than in Nigeria. Of the nearly 5,000 Christians killed for their faith in 2025 so far, over 3,100 died in Nigeria -- over 60% of global Christian martyrdom in a single nation.

These are not statistics. These are human beings -- mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, pastors and farmers -- whose only "crime" was trusting Jesus in a land where that allegiance invites a death sentence.

And under the shadow of Shariah law in twelve Nigerian states, that sentence is sometimes carried out by courts, other times by machete.

This is no longer about religious tension or tribal disputes. This is systematic, state-enabled religious cleansing. And the media's refusal to cover it is complicity in its own right.

To the American Church: the blood of our brothers and sisters cries out from the ground. Will we turn our heads away again? Will we busy ourselves with worship playlists and self-help sermons while villages are set ablaze?

We must wake up. The persecuted Church cannot be ignored simply because their suffering isn't trending. We must raise our voices in prayer, in advocacy, and in financial support. We must demand that our leaders -- both political and spiritual -- call this what it is: a genocide.

Because if the Church will not speak, who will?

And if we refuse to see their suffering, how long until it reaches our doorsteps?

The words of the Apostle Paul echo louder than ever: "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it." (1 Corinthians 12:26)

Yelewata is burning. Are we listening?