By Paul Gordon Collier, Editor 
Originally published April 25, 2025 for our End-of-Month Issue of Mindful Intelligence Advisor. Subscribe to get semi-monthly issues.
“My parents lost everything, all their savings, because we had to run from the Nigerian side to the Biafran side. We were Igbos.” –Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
“I am hearing a more resounding voice in the spirit saying, God is changing the guard in the Nigerian church.” –Sunday Adelaja
INTRODUCTION
Nigeria happens to be the most populated country in Africa, with 237.5 million citizens, making it the 6th most populous country in the world. Nigeria is the home of an ethnic group called the Igbo, who collectively adopted Christianity. They have become both the greatest success story in Nigeria and the most persecuted people as well.
The Igbo are currently facing a growing threat from violent Islamists who seek to make Nigeria a Sharia country, a country controlled by Islamic law, which is decidedly intolerant of others’ beliefs, including many Muslims and certainly ALL Christians.
Our publisher, Bill Collier, is currently working on an exclusive report on the plight of the Igbos in the Plateau State that will include on-the-ground interviews and, hopefully, pictures.
This report will give you the background information on the targets of these Plateau State assaults, the Igbo. It will culminate with a Palm Sunday massacre that happened this April 2025.
The plight of the Igbo has long been ignored, even by American Christian media. We hope to give voice to our brothers and sisters in Christ and attention to the rest of the world about the plight the Igbo currently face.
A. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IGBO
The Igbo people live primarily in southeastern Nigeria, especially in the states of Anambra, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, and Enugu. It is estimated that the Igbo comprise about 15% of the Nigerian population, or 35 million people. 98% of the Igbo identify as Christian, though some suggest it’s near total.
They are one of the largest ethnic groups in all of Africa yet in the West, barely a whisper is spoken about them.
This writer suspects the reason they get so little coverage in the West is because of how they embraced Christianity, made it their own, and, through that, became the most professional and prosperous people of integrity in Nigeria, whose success ultimately led to their persecution.
Nigeria has two major religions showing the direct fruit of their beliefs side by side: Islam and Christianity. The Christians flourish and raise professional men and women of integrity, while the Muslims continue to raise killers, thugs, and men who think they’re entitled to murder the unbeliever. It’s black-on-black crime, so to speak, with the Muslims committing the lion’s share of that crime.
It’s a stunning rebuke of the way of Islam, a dear ally of the perverse left still infecting American institutions with its criminal insanity (something it shares in common with its Muslim allies, which explains, in part, their alliance).
- FROM THE BEGINNING TO PRE-COLONIAL – The Igbo people can trace their heritage back over 5,000 years, with archeological evidence showing they have lived in the southeastern region of Nigeria the whole time.
Their prehistory continues until their colonialization in the early-19th century. During this long period of time, the Igbo entered the bronze age at least by the 9th Century AD. Their culture, judging from the archeological findings, was highly sophisticated, though they lacked a written language.
The region was not dominated by kingdoms; rather, it seems to have been comprised of numerous decentralized village councils divided by age groups, with decisions being made through consensus, not voting. Women also held strong positions in their societies.
“The Igbo had no kings or chiefs in the traditional sense; their society was acephalous, with authority distributed among village assemblies.” –Chinua Achebe, There Was a Country, 2012.
Their religion was polytheistic, with Chukwu being the supreme deity of their pantheon. The religious leaders had a major role in society, conducting rituals for safe being and oracle services, which included conflict resolution and governance.
The practices of the Igbo could warrant its own report, as so much of their customs and beliefs aligned very well with the Christian gospel (though not completely).
Their method of retaining humility and holiness among the people by requiring every person to submit to a designated person while also having a person that must submit to them fits very well with the servant-leader example Christ served us when he walked the earth. It certainly echoes with Christ’s teaching, “…the last will be first, and the first last.” (Mat.20:16 ESV)
When the white man arrived, the Igbo were well-ready to take advantage of what Western culture gave them, while holding on to their own pre-colonial identity, thanks largely to their Christian faith (though some, a very small minority regularly feted by the Western press, would disagree with this assessment).
Their customs, their ways, largely overlapped with the gospel.
- CHRISTIANIZATION AND BRITISH RULE – Before the British arrived, missionaries got there first, preaching the gospel and providing free education to the natives. One anecdotal story shared by an Igbo man with my brother, Bill Collier, tells of the Igbo first hearing about the God of the Bible, the triune God who gave his only son so that whosoever believes in him will have eternal life. He told Bill the people recognized God as the more complete version of their own god(s).
Their first reaction was that their own beliefs seemed to be shadows of the true gospel. By the time the British arrived in the 1850s, 60% of the Igbo were already identifying as Christians. Some attribute this remarkably rapid conversion to their recognition of the social advantage of adopting the white man’s religion (namely free education), though the people are now more fully Christian than they were under the white man’s thumb.
When the British moved in, one of the most disrupting things they did was assign warrant chiefs to the Igbo, which disrupted their centuries-old method of consensual governance through age-divided village councils. This led to the Aba Women’s riot in 1929, where Igbo women led protests against the governance-breaking imposition of warrant chiefs, as well as against British taxes.
It seems Christ has raised a people aware of their own innate value as children in the image of God, priests and kings in the new Kingdom.
On October 1, 1960, the Nigerians finally gained their independence from the British after two decades of “constitutional reforms” that, according to the Nigerians, still didn’t go far enough in both restoring self-rule and, for the Igbo, allowing them to practice their centuries-long governance traditions.
- THE BIAFRA WAR – This period of Igbo history (1967-1970) could also warrant its own report. It was set off by an Igbo-led coup, then followed up with anti-Igbo pogroms, which claimed the lives of up to 50,000 Igbo.
This round of violence ended with the creation of an Igbo-centered nation, Biafra. The 3-year war was the Empire striking back, as Biafra was re-absorbed into Nigeria proper, shackled to a partner that wants them dead for worshiping Christ; That same partner CANNOT afford to outright genocide them because they are a major part of the Nigerian economic engine.
Christian persecution was high during this time, but war and famine killed far more, with up to 3 million Igbo dying during the war.
- POST-WAR TO PRESENT – While the Igbo lost, their Christian identity was cemented during this time, an identity still just as strong today. The post-war reality is a world that sets quotas to ensure there are never too many Igbo in positions of power. They are derisively referred to as the Jews of Nigeria.
The one major difference between them and their neighbors is their commitment to teaching and living the gospel in their lives. They are a scripted people, a people raised in a shared book, the book of books, through which God promises us, “The unfolding of your words gives light, it imparts understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130)
This means a scripted people, be they “advanced” or “simple” will soon follow the same pattern as the Igbo did as they became, more and more, a scripted people, a people of the book.
“Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word. I know, O Lord , that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” – Psalm 119:73-75 (ESV)
The Indigenization Decree of 1972 also effectively prevents the Igbo from accessing capital in the country, as their western and northern neighbors are given preferred status.
Starting in 2015, another ethnic group, the Muslim Fulani, began to slaughter Igbo Christians where they could, including the Ebonyi massacre that saw 100-plus Igbo killed.
“Igbo Nigerians have been tacitly targeted by the Fulani Muslims because of their ethnicity and Christian faith.” –Mario Alexis Portella
B. THE CURRENT CONDITIONS
Since 2000, over 62,000 Christian Igbos have been killed by Islamists. Those attacks have only been increasing. Their trust in the federal government is near-zero, as they have been largely disenfranchised by it. Their inability to be their own nation limits their ability to defend themselves against armed militants, knowing full well the government will do little to find the killers and bring them to justice.
In addition to the Fulani, they must now also contend with the newly arrived Boko Haram.
- VIOLENCE AGAINST CHRISTIANS – At first, the Igbo only had to contend with the Islamist Fulani; then Boko Haram started kidnapping and killing their daughters. Now, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has joined in on the assaults.
They all have two things in common: they hate the Igbo and they hate Christianity (though this writer believes the hatred of the Igbo is DUE to their Christian heritage and continued beliefs).
The World Watch List by Open Doors has Nigeria at 6th for the world’s worst countries for Christian persecution, pointing out the fact that, according to Intersociety data in 2023, “Nigeria accounts for 89% of Christians martyred worldwide. The Intersociety report confirms that Nigeria has become one of the most dangerous places to live for Christians in Africa.”
The bulk of those deaths are the Igbo, the most persecuted Christians on the planet today.
- THE IGBO CONDITION – The Igbo people are estimated to be around 30 million today, though a 2006 Nigerian census lists them at 21 million. Some estimates go as high as 35 million, assuming they were initially under-counted and thus population growth proportionally could make that number higher.
They are at least 98% Christian, with Catholics and Protestants both having sizeable representations.
Despite the handicaps placed on them by the government, the Igbo are still a more prosperous people than their Muslim neighbors, excelling in entrepreneurship and achieving high levels of education. Their very existence as non-white Christians, in contrast to non-white Muslims, serves as a threat to race-baiting, Islam-promoting, anti-Christian demonizing narratives.
- GEOGRAPHIC TARGETS – Nigeria is divided into 36 states. 12 of the 36 states have implemented Sharia, Islamic Law, making it illegal for Christians to openly practice their faith in these states. The violence against Christians has largely been confined to those states until relatively recently, when the targets expanded to the region called the Middle Belt, which includes the Plateau State now currently under attack. You can read about these attacks in the next issue of MIA (May 16, 2025).
Recently, these attacks have pierced Igbo-dominated states like Enugu, Anambra, and Imo. Christians are kidnapped, churches are burned, and Christians are slaughtered, often at church.
- THE ATTACKERS – Rising “stars” in the evangelicalism-through-slaughter Islamist community, Boko Haram and ISWAP, have accounted for over 10,000 Christian deaths since 2009. These groups exclusively kill Christians.
The Fulani are Islamists, but some of their disputes are land-based, and date back to before Islam and Christianity arrived. Still, the Fulani use Islam as the primary justification for murdering Igbo Christians. The Fulani are herdsmen who have long battled the farmers, who are now largely Igbo.
“The anti-Christian butcheries in Nigeria have been investigated and found to be perpetrated mainly by Jihadist Fulani herdsmen and their mercenaries.” –Emeka Umeagbalasi, Intersociety, May 4, 2022.
While the ultimate goal of the Fulani is simply to take land, their embrace of Islam has emboldened them to more aggressively assault the Igbo than they had in the past.
“Violence between herders and farming communities has spread from the central belt southwards, and there are other long-running disputes in the Niger Delta and the south-east.” –House of Commons Library, February 1, 2024.
- GOVERNMENT RESPONSE – Section 38 of Nigeria’s constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, but that clause in the constitution is minimally enforced. A U.S. State Department report on religious freedom in Nigeria claims the government has taken some measures to check Boko Haram and ISWAP, but little to no effort has been made to check the Fulani.
In 2022, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria felt so insecure they made a statement about it:
“Escalating Insecurity in our Country and the sub-region Insecurity has remained a persisting problem in our country as insurgents, herdsmen militia, bandits, and the so-called unknown gunmen have continued to unleash terror in different parts of the country.” –Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, 2022 Statement on Insecurity
A 2023 USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom) report puts Nigeria in the category of “Country of Particular Concern” due to its “systemic” religious freedom violations and the government’s inaction against those who persecute Christians.
“Despite several military operations, the government’s response to violence against Christians, including in the southeast, remains insufficient, leaving communities vulnerable.” –USCIRF, 2023 Annual Report
C. THE PALM SUNDAY MASSACRE
On April 13, 2025, Christians in a small community in the Plateau State of Nigeria were preparing to celebrate Palm Sunday, a commemoration of the day Christ entered Jerusalem a week before his execution. He was celebrated as a King, only to be condemned as a heretic a week later. It sets off the most important time of the year for Christians, Passion Week.
On this holy day, Islamists entered their community and began their assault.
The Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, said of the attacks, “I have instructed security agencies to thoroughly investigate this crisis and identify those responsible for orchestrating these violent acts,” similar words to those spoken in the past, none of which materialized in any significant way.
It is reported the killers were Fulani herders, targeting a Christian farming community. The Fulani are also accused of killing 1,336 people in the Plateau State between December 2023 and February 2024. Leading up to this slaughter, and including it, the Fulani have killed at least 126 people since March 27 of this same year.
Their target was the Zike community, an Igbo farming community. Armed men looted and destroyed homes, with over 300 homes reported destroyed and at least 56 people slaughtered. More than 3,000 people were displaced by the violence.
The ongoing assault on the Plateau State will be reported on by publisher Bill Collier in the May 16, 2025 edition of MIA.
SUMMARY
The Firearms Act of 1959 is the bedrock of gun control laws in Nigeria. It requires a person to get a license to own a gun which must be approved by the President or the Inspector General of the Police. Reasons for disapproval include “intemperate habits.”
If you follow the law, getting a gun in Nigeria is difficult, though not impossible. If you want to own a personal firearm, your choices are severely limited, assuming you get a license in the first place.
While Nigeria has some of the strictest gun control laws in Africa, they also account for 70% of the illegal gun trade in West Africa, meaning the illegally-minded can get guns a lot easier than the legally-minded can, the Igbo.
They are, essentially, unarmed by a government that refuses to protect them.
If they turn to the illegal gun trade, they invite a whole new war on their heads at a time when they have little to no defense against government invasion, should it come to that. They are unarmed for all practical purposes, unable to defend themselves against invaders who fear no law, for the government continues to look the other way.
If we could get 30 million Igbo Christians to America, our nation, and then the world, would be a better place for it. They have the spirit of liberty in Christ that makes them tailor-fit for an Americanist lifestyle, where individuals are assumed made in the image of God, held accountable ultimately by God, in the end, not men.
Short of that, this writer cannot help but hope the Igbo can find a way to defend themselves without inviting government invasion and a repeat of the horrors of the Biafra War, which still holds a pall and a hope over the people today.
“I was born in 1966, at the beginning of the Biafran-Nigerian Civil War, and the war ended after three years. And I was growing up in school, and the federal government didn’t want us taught about the history of the war, because they thought it probably would make us generate a new generation of rebels.” –Chris Abani
FURTHER RESOURCES:
There was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra – Chinua Achebe
A History of Nigeria – Toyin Falola
Biafra, the Horrors of War, the Story of a Child Soldier – Okey Anueyiagu
Nigeria and Biafra, My Story – Philip Efiong
