ABUJA, Nigeria (BN24) — A Nigerian bishop who testified before Congress about Christian persecution has faced deadly retaliation in his home region, with his village attacked and 20 people killed in what he describes as escalating terrorist violence following his March congressional appearance.
Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Makurdi Diocese told Fox News Digital that four fatal attacks occurred within 10 days in his diocese after he testified before U.S. lawmakers about the systematic killing of Christians by jihadi militants in Nigeria. The attacks represent a dramatic escalation in violence that Anagbe directly links to his congressional testimony calling international attention to religious persecution.
Nigeria ranks among the world’s most dangerous countries for Christians, according to Open Doors International’s 2025 World Watch List. Of 4,476 Christians killed globally during the organization’s latest reporting period, 3,100 deaths occurred in Nigeria, representing 69 percent of worldwide Christian fatalities.
Open Doors U.K. stated that “jihadist violence continues to escalate in Nigeria, and Christians are at particular risk from targeted attacks by Islamic militant groups, including Fulani militants, Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province).”
The most devastating attack occurred May 25 in Anagbe’s home village of Aondona, where militants launched an hours-long assault that left more than 20 people dead, scores injured, and thousands displaced to makeshift camps. The violence began May 23 when one of Anagbe’s priests, Father Solomon Atongo, was shot in the leg by terrorists and nearly killed.
A subsequent attack June 1 targeted Naka town, with Anagbe reporting that “terror was unleashed” with many killed and displaced. The assault was so intense that even previously displaced residents seeking refuge in a nearby school were not spared.
Anagbe’s congressional testimony in March before the House Africa Subcommittee focused on his almost exclusively Christian diocese in north-central Nigeria, where constant attacks by Islamist Fulani militants have created what he terms a campaign of territorial conquest.
Following his testimony, several foreign embassies in Abuja warned Anagbe in April of credible high-level official threats, including potential detention upon his return to Nigeria and warnings that “something might happen to him.”
Representative Chris Smith, the New Jersey Republican who chairs the House Africa Subcommittee and hosted Anagbe’s testimony, expressed outrage over the threats. Smith stated he was “appalled by reports that Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Father Remigius Ihyula are facing threats allegedly from Nigerian government sources and affiliated organizations because of the Bishop’s testimony before Congress detailing violence in Nigeria’s Benue State.”
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria posted on social media April 10 calling for the bishop’s “right to speak freely without fear of retribution or retaliation,” declaring that intimidation and threats had been made “because of their March 12 testimony.”
A senior church leader in Nigeria, using the pseudonym “Pastor Winyadebi” due to safety concerns, told Fox News Digital that the attacks represent systematic religious violence. “It has been attacks upon attacks, religious violence. And we say this because the communities that are attacked are Christian communities,” he said.
The pastor explained that Islamist militants “want to be sure that Islam takes over every part of these places. And so they’re doing everything to make sure that Christianity is brought down and Islam is established No. 1. They want to make sure that Sharia law has taken over Nigeria.”
Anagbe characterized the violence in his region as “nothing short of terror attacks on innocent villagers in order to seize their lands and occupy.” He described the perpetrators as conducting “a jihad and conquering territories and renaming them accordingly.”
The bishop drew historical parallels to previous genocides, warning that international inaction could lead to casualties that would “make the Rwandan genocide a child’s play.”
“The world has a lot to do. First of all, the world must learn from past mistakes, the Holocaust and most recently the Rwandan genocide. In both cases, the world hid its face in the sand like an ostrich,” Anagbe said. “If the world does not rise up now to put a stop to the atrocities orchestrated in the name of being politically correct, it may wake up one day to casualties that make the Rwandan genocide a child’s play.”
While the Nigerian government did not respond to requests for comment, the Catholic Herald reported that Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry contacted the United States regarding the bishop’s testimony, noting that “any reports of threats or intimidation against religious leaders would be investigated and appropriate actions would be taken.”
The escalating violence underscores the deteriorating security situation for Nigeria’s Christian population, with Anagbe noting that his years of advocacy about what he terms genocide has gained broader recognition following his congressional testimony and the subsequent deadly retaliation.
