Pastor Lesado Nathan:

I thank the committee for giving us this great opportunity to be here and to speak about the prosecution of Christians in Nigeria. I will highlight just a few points. I will not repeat most of the things Mr. Turner said earlier.

The north of Nigeria, where I come from, is mainly Muslim and the south is mainly Christian, with the country divided by the volatile Middle Belt region. Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram brutally attacks Christian communities in the north, where Sharia law is in place in 12 states. Militant Fulani herdsmen carry out attacks across the Middle Belt using heavy weapons to drive largely Christian farmers off fertile grazing land. Many analysts now describe the situation in these regions as genocide. Islamist militants have killed around 10,000 Christians since 2015 and have injured, raped or kidnapped thousands more. They also attack government institutions and moderate Muslims who do not share their jihadist agenda. Millions of Christians have been internally displaced.

Conditions for Christians greatly deteriorated under former President Muhammadu Buhari, an ethnic Fulani Muslim. His Government failed to protect Christians or to prosecute perpetrators of attacks, and he appointed mostly northern Muslims to high offices and the judiciary. We wait to see if his successor, President Bola Tinubu, will be willing or able to stop the violence. There is currently a huge surge of violence in Plateau State, where I mostly reside with my family. At least 300 Christians have been killed in Fulani attacks since the beginning of May. A couple and three other persons have been gunned down in a community in the Mangu local government area of Plateau State.

Finally, a disturbing video made by an outgoing governor in the northern part of Nigeria has gone viral on social media, with people commenting on it. The governor makes it clear in the video that this is their agenda, with links all over the world and on the Internet, and that it is in their plan to do this in his own Government and internationally.

I am happy to be given this opportunity to share a few thoughts about our nation. We are grateful for the opportunity.