US President Donald Trump described Abu-Bilal al-Minuki as “second in command of ISIS globally.” The US and Nigeria also conducted additional air strikes against ISIS forces on Sunday.

(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations hopes for a little more stability in Nigeria now that al-Minuki is reportedly gone.

“This individual was largely behind a lot of the organization and the instabilities — not just in Nigeria, but this has spilled over into neighboring countries,” he says. (More on al-Minuki here.)

Other leaders within ISIS will fill the gap left by al-Minuki soon enough. But there’s something more Kelley doesn’t want us to miss. 

“The encouraging thing about this that we haven’t seen in the last 15 years is a robust involvement from the Nigerian government and military,” Kelley says of the joint Nigeria-US operation.

“A lot of the people that we know that we’ve spoken to are encouraged that there’s accountability finally taking place. The Christian church is encouraged today. They’ve been praying for accountability.”

Nigeria’s response to Islamic insurgents has often been criticized. Government leaders maintain that extremists target people of all faiths, not mainly Christians. Yet according to Open Doors, more Christians were killed in Nigeria between October 2024 and September 2025 than in the rest of the world combined. Of the 4,849 deaths recorded in their reporting period, 3,490 were believers in Nigeria. 

Find your place in the story

Regardless of political debate, Kelley says the need for gospel workers remains urgent. Nigeria’s estimated 237 million population is divided nearly in half between Muslims and Christians.

“This [joint operation] is putting [Nigeria] on the front lines and to the front of our attention, so that we can be praying for northern Nigeria,” Kelley says. 

Among northern Nigeria’s unreached people groups are the Fulani, the Hausa, and the Kanuri. 

“Pray for laborers that would be sent forth into these [northern] areas,” says Kelley. “There are 100 million Muslims in northern Nigeria, and well over 95% of them have never heard the gospel message.”

Many of these missionaries could come from southern Nigeria, which Kelley explains is predominantly Christian. 

Pray also for gospel resources and godly leaders to reach into the north. 

“We need to pray for resources like our solar-powered audio Bibles in the Hausa, Fulani, and Kanuri languages that can be sent in there,” says Kelley. “We need to send mature leaders who are strong in the Word of God, who understand the Quran, who can help educate and lead these people to Christ.” 

The header image is a stock photo of a region in north central Nigeria, courtesy of Mathias Owa Martins via Unsplash. 

If signed into law, the bill would cut aid to Nigeria in half… unless its government meets three conditions. Those conditions hinge on stopping what US lawmakers are calling a genocide against Christians in Nigeria. Here are those three requirements:

• “taking effective steps to prevent and respond to violence and hold perpetrators accountable”
• “prioritizing resources to support victims of such violence, including internally displaced persons”
• “actively facilitating the safe return, resettlement, and reconstruction of communities impacted by the violence.”

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says that the nomadic Fulani people have become the main attackers of believers in Nigeria. Yet they are more than just enemies. 

“They’re fiercely opposed to the gospel. Yet what makes them very significant is they occupy more than 12 countries throughout Central Africa,” he says. “The largest concentration of Fulani happened to be in the country of Nigeria, where a lot of these atrocities that we’re speaking about are taking place.”

These disciples of Christ are passionately sharing God’s Word in North Eastern Nigeria.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Unknown Nations)

The Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa reports that the Fulani Ethnic Militias were responsible for nearly half of the 36,056 civilian deaths they documented across Nigeria between October 2019 and September 2024. The violence has only continued since then.

(Read a May 2026 report on Fulani militants from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom here.)

Kelley says the clash comes down to Fulani herdsmen and Christian landowners.

“[The conflict zone] has largely been an area in the northern part, but as grazing lands have changed, and the Fulani are moving into territories further south, that’s what’s causing the increase of these hostilities,” he says. “But they’re very aggressive. I mean, you don’t tell a Fulani ‘no.’ If you own land, and they come through and trash your land, the farmers are not happy about that. There’s a confrontation.”

What’s the answer?

The population divide between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria is right around 50/50. Kelley says the biggest frustration is over the Nigerian government often looking the other way as Christians are killed. 

“You’re talking about 100 million Christians are saying, ‘When is the government going to finally hold these people accountable?’” he says. 

The gospel is the answer. Kelley notes that some of Unknown Nations’ best missionaries are former Fulani militants who have had an encounter with Christ. Pray for more such men and women. 

“Yes, the people that are terrorizing, the people that are killing, they are our target, and we share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them,” Kelley says. “We’ve heard so many stories of Fulani coming to know Christ. It’s the Apostle Paul’s story.”

One way to reach the Fulani is through audio resources, since they are oral learners. That’s why Unknown Nations has distributed thousands of solar-powered audio Bibles, micro SD cards, and their Bible app into northern Nigeria, “because they gather around and they listen to the Word of God, and God changes their hearts,” says Kelley.

“Praying for the same-culture missionaries that are Hausa, that are Fulani, that are Kanuri is going to be how we reach northern Nigeria with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Header photo: Audio Bibles bring the Gospel to people from oral cultures. (Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

“It’s unclear how involved the government negotiations were,” says Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations, “but there was definitely some pressure that was put on these kidnappers.” 

Kelley says the November 21 abduction is “an example of constant disruption of the gospel, because we regularly get calls [from indigenous missionary partners]where we have to emergency evacuate or pull people from one place to another.”

(Stock photo from Lagos, Nigeria courtesy of Doug Linstedt via Unsplash)

Despite the release of these 100 kidnapped children, the big-picture pattern in Nigeria remains the same. Groups like Boko Haram and Fulani militants attack and abduct people at will. They often target Christians, who are considered soft targets. The government’s response to enforcing justice is lackluster.

The situation takes on further seriousness this Christmas, as memories of mass killings return. Two years ago on Christmas Eve, nearly 300 Christians across Plateau State were murdered.

Believers expect adversity this year, too. “That’s their life. That’s all they know,” Kelley says. “And they will not stop worshiping Jesus because of it [the danger].” 

Pray for God’s strength for Nigerian Christians and His mercy over their lives this Christmas. Pray for their enemies by name.

“In northern Nigeria, there are dozens of different people groups or nations — including the Fulani, the Hausa, and the Kanuri, that are all 99% Muslim,” says Kelley. “When Jesus said ‘Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers,’ we can inject the names Kanuri, Fulani and Hausa into that prayer, because those are the places and the nations that need laborers.”

Header photo courtesy of Moses Adeyemi via Unsplash.

A rise in attacks prompted President Tinubu to declare a nationwide security emergency. Todd Nettleton from The Voice of Martyrs USA says, “The government has said they’re going to recruit 20,000 more police officers and get them trained and get them involved in helping against these kind of attacks.”

Inikorogha Community in Edo State of Nigeria (Photo courtesy of Paul Edesemi via Unsplash)

The announcement comes after a string of attacks across Kebbi, Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Yobe, and Kwara states, leaving dozens of civilians killed or abducted.

Nettleton explains, “It’s not all localized to one specific area. It is across the northern and even central part of Nigeria. That’s a concern.”

A few hundred people have been kidnapped in the past two weeks, including children. And the latest attack saw a bride and her bridesmaids abducted from a village.

“If you’re a Christian in northern Nigeria, if you’re a parent, a mom or a dad, and you’re trying to raise Christian children, you have to take a long look at your surroundings,” adds Nettleton.

Another concern is the scale: attackers devote major resources to holding hundreds captive. Motives appear to range from kidnapping for profit to targeting Christians for their faith. Their chaotic tactics hinder a quick response.

As the international community learns more about the toll on Nigerian believers, pressure is growing on the government to protect religious minorities. Nettleton recalls, “There was a protest at the Nigerian embassy in Spain. People were marching and saying, ‘Hey, you as the government of Nigeria, you have to put a stop to this.’”

Photo courtesy of Regarn Hope via Unsplash

The government has secured a few rescues, but many remain in captivity. Many communities live under a constant shadow of threat.

One way Voice of the Martyrs USA is helping Nigerian Christians is by caring for widows after these attacks — supporting them emotionally and spiritually, and providing vocational training so they can support their families.

Nettleton adds, “That is one of our significant ministries in Nigeria, as well as helping the church, equipping and encouraging pastors, helping in the aftermath of some of these attacks”.

Visit The Voice of the Martyrs USA to learn how to pray for Nigeria strategically and learn about their ministry.

Pray for the endurance of Nigerian believers, especially those missing their kidnapped relatives.

Header photo courtesy of Kindel Media via Pexels.

Nmadu says from our standpoint as Christians, genocidal offenses are being committed; but regardless of how the UN or other international organizations choose to label the situation: 

“We can safely say that Christians are being killed in mass with the intention to coerce, to make Christians change their religious conduct,” he affirms. “Freedom of religion, or belief, is being hampered in many parts of Northern Nigeria.”

With land comes economic and political power, and the battle for control sweeps through a complex territory of cultural, political, and religious landscapes. 

Nmadu says he does not believe the present government is aiding the killing of Christians. But the administration’s refusal to take swift action, even in the form of strong rhetoric, reveals a trend towards political correctness. 

“In trying to be politically correct, they become complacent,” he says. “The government – not just this government, even past governments – have not done enough to protect lives of Christians in communities.”

The killings and abductions of thousands of Nigerians have been documented over the last few years. But Nmadu says small numbers aren’t even accounted for in those reports. 

“The evil is just unimaginable, and for a government to come out and deny that there is [any] such thing happening in the country shows their level of responsiveness in protecting lives and property, which is the number one duty of any government in the world,” he says. 

In particular, he believes the government of Nigeria must track down terrorists and hold them accountable to justice. He also thinks the administration needs to address the blasphemy laws being implemented in some Nigerian states by Muslims trying to enforce Sharia law. 

“When we say government is not doing enough, it is allowing the culture of impunity to prevail in the country,” he says. “People are emboldened to commit more atrocities because when one is committed, nothing is done.” 

Nmadu is hopeful that a surge of international interest will be a catalyst for change in Nigeria. 

President Trump has declared Nigeria a country of particular concern and has even threatened to send US troops to the country if measures to stop the genocide are not taken. It’s a move that Nmadu says has pricked the ears of government officials in his home country. 

“And if this is the only thing that this has done, I think it’s a welcome idea,” he says.

Above and featured photos courtesy of Unsplash

The report was released by The Anambra-based International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), led by Christian criminologist Emeka Umeagbalasi. It also estimated “no fewer than 7,800 others were violently seized and abducted for being Christians.”

(Photo courtesy Voice of the Martyrs USA)

Christian Faith Ministries serves in Benue, a state in North Central Nigeria. In early July, four of their members were tragically killed in an attack.

Ruth Hodge, who co-founded Christian Faith Ministries with her husband Kent, discussed the persecution facing Nigerian believers in a podcast interview with The Voice of the Martyrs Canada’s Greg Musselman.

Ruth explains that many Christian villagers in Northern Nigeria have fled their homes and sought refuge in an old IDP (internally displaced people) camp. “That camp is occupied…but there’s no aid going there. Mostly, the men are staying in the villages to protect them, to try to drive out the Fulani when they attack, and to try to continue farming.”

Benue State is known as the food basket of Nigeria. “It’s the most fertile state of the whole nation,” says Ruth. “A lot of food is produced in Benue every year.”

However, violence and instability have devastated food production. “At the moment, nothing is coming out of Benue State. Very little food is coming out. The roads aren’t safe. People are being kidnapped on the roads. Trucks — if they’re going out with the produce — they’re looted, they’re stolen. The Fulani are well armed, full of ammunition, and the military is doing very little.”

(Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs USA)

Even in the face of persecution, Nigerian Christians long for their attackers to hear the Gospel — that even those who kill them might find salvation in Jesus Christ.

The provost of Christian Faith Ministries’ Bible school is ethnically Fulani, and Ruth notes, “We have about 50 Fulani students in our Bible school — that’s the ones I can think of immediately.”

These Fulani believers are reaching their own people with the Good News of Jesus.

Please pray with them for Fulani Muslims to turn from violence to the forgiveness and joy of Christ. Ask God to give persecuted believers in Northern Nigeria wisdom and protection as they care for their villages and families. Pray for the Church to be a bold witness of faith in the fire.

Header photo courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs Canada.

Christian communities continue to suffer raids, sexual violence, killings at roadblocks, and kidnappings. Recent victims include two teenagers and a nine-month-old baby.

Jihadist groups like Boko Haram, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Lakurawa also pose an ongoing threat.

“In the void of ethical leadership, there’s always going to be these bad actors that try to swoop in and gain access to the resources,” Unknown Nations’ Greg Kelley says.

“Then you’ve got the agenda of Islam, which is to take over the entirety of that country.”

Believers aren’t the only ones who suffer. Fulani herdsmen, although Islamist, also attack properties owned by Muslims.

“It’s not like every Muslim in Nigeria is applauding what’s going on. They’re just as dissatisfied and frustrated as the Christians are, but it opens their heart,” Kelley says.

“Their worldview is challenged, and they’re open to the Gospel.”

The Fulani were among Nigeria’s first converts to Islam, and this religious system is central to their identity. Yet hope remains for this people group. “We’re seeing God move in very unique ways,” Kelley says.

“He’s saving people who come from these aggressors and using them as missionaries. There are 300 Fulani leaders that are going to be trained in the next few weeks.”

Ask the Lord to put His words into the mouths of Fulani Gospel workers.

“The most passionate and enthusiastic laborers are coming out of the three largest Muslim people groups,” Kelley says.

“When you’ve come out of that darkness, you understand the significance of it (salvation) way more than someone who came from a majority [Christian] people group.”

Header image is an AI-generated photo depicting Fulani herdsmen created using GenCraft.

Less than three weeks after over 200 Christians were massacred in Yelwata village, Benue State, four more were killed in the same area. In nearby Plateau State, six Christians were slain last week in Riyom County — part of 64 killings in recent weeks. Beyond the physical destruction, vast hectares of farmland have been lost and many homes burned.

Greg Musselman from Voice of the Martyrs Canada says, “The sad part about this is that the security forces don’t seem to have either the will, the manpower, the know-how — whatever it is — to be able to stop these attacks.”

People praying in Nigerian church (representative photo courtesy of David Iloba via Pexels)

More than six extremist ideology groups, despite their differences, are joining forces and recruiting more fighters. Among them are Boko Haram, the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP), the broader Islamic State network, the Taliban, Fulani herdsmen, and Lacurawa.

“These Islamic groups seem to feel that they can just attack the Christians and not much is going to happen to them,” says Musselman.

The geography of violence is also shifting — spreading from northern to southern Nigeria. Many Christians flee their homes, but some are still pursued, as seen in recent attacks in Benue and Plateau states.

Musselman explains: “You’ve got families already grieving. They’ve lost their loved ones, and now they know there’s really no safe place to go — and these militias are determined to rid these areas of Christians.” Their goal is to spread fear, demoralize the church and many Christians, and force them to flee.

Some believers accept the risk of martyrdom and remain in their homes.

Musselman adds, “And they’re saying, ‘Well, you know, if we die, we die…’ And others, they’re overwhelmed by the fact that they could be killed.”

The despair is real, but so is the response. The Church, both locally and globally, is rising to pray and act. Voice of the Martyrs Canada is helping raise awareness and provide support for Nigerian Christians.

Pray that Nigerian Christians will have the freedom to believe in Christ in their own homeland!

Header photo: Nigerian church (courtesy of Tosin Superson via Pexels).

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations explains Nigeria is a land of contrasts.

“It’s a country that’s totally split in half. [Christians] largely are in the south. The other half is Muslim, largely in the north,” says Kelley. “The Fulani have been just as notorious, just as aggressive and brutal as Boko Haram.”

In addition to religions, influence is another dividing line. Nigeria has one of the highest Christian populations in all of Africa, with over 120 million believers according to Joshua Project. Yet their cries for protection are often ignored. 

Why? Kelley explains that the Fulani people group is massive, influential, and politically resourceful. “They’re very ambitious, and they have incredible leadership and desire for power. So with that, you have key Fulani people that are dispersed throughout the government, throughout businesses. They have tons of resources. So when these killings happen, they tend to look the other way, and that’s why they’re getting away with it.”

The Nigerian government’s response has been lackluster. Meanwhile, the international community is sometimes bogged down by politics. 

“I think the international community is playing a game of Russian roulette a little bit with ‘how much do we try and enforce [sanctions or human rights policies on] these guys and punish the bad guys, while not handicapping the people that we’re trying to elevate?’” says Kelley. 

A contrasting response

But on the ground, some Nigerian Christians are pursuing a different solution: sharing the gospel even with the Fulani.

Audio Bibles bring the Gospel to people from oral cultures.
(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

“We are hearing about these very perpetrators of aggressions and persecutions coming to know Christ,” says Kelley. “We just need to resource the people who are willing to go there in a better way. That is truly the answer for Nigeria.”

Supporting these Christians could mean sponsoring motorcycles for outreach, providing training, or distributing solar-powered audio Bibles. Last year, Unknown Nations distributed over 3,000 audio Bibles in Nigeria. 

Kelley says the place to start is with prayer. Pray along with Matthew 9:37-38 that God will send more workers into Nigeria’s north. Pray that the advance of the gospel will transform the country from the inside out. 

“I promise you one thing: today, there’s someone taking the gospel into northern Nigeria who will be killed because of that, and they’re doing it joyfully,” says Kelley. “Why? Because they recognize we’re just passing through this world. We are just temporary stewards of this opportunity to take the gospel into places like that. That’s the answer.”

Header photo: A western Fulani woman carries a bucket on her head and is silhouetted against the setting sun. (Photo, caption courtesy of IMB, CC 4.0)

More believers are killed in Nigeria each year than in all other countries combined. In the country’s Muslim North, violence against Christian minorities has been happening for years.

Fulani man in Nigeria. Courtesy of Pixabay.

“Unfortunately, what’s been happening more recently, is the atrocities and attacks are happening more in the middle belt states where Christianity and Islam collide,” says Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations.

While attacks on Christians have often been perpetrated by the radical Islamic group Boko Haram, Saturday’s attacks were carried out by the Fulani, a nomadic tribe of cattle herders. 

“That’s really where the tensions start. They target farmers, who are primarily Christian, and they will graze their cattle and go through their lands,” Kelley says. 

When farmers confront the Fulani, violence often precedes or subsumes negotiation. But while the world spotlights the Fulani’s aggression, Kelley points out their spiritual need. They are among a third of the world’s population unreached with the Gospel — a stark contrast to Nigeria’s Christian people groups concentrated in the South. 

“There are dozens and dozens like the Fulani, like the Hausa, like the Kanuri, that are 99% Muslim. That is where our indigenous network exclusively works,” he says. 

Unknown Nations partners with over 200 believers in Northern Nigeria. Kelley says his team members are taking the Gospel to one of the world’s most dangerous areas. 

“Islam, unfortunately, in Northern Nigeria especially, just brings so much destruction, despair, aggression,” he says. “There’s just no peace in their lives, so missionaries are having a ton of fruit in these areas of Nigeria.”

Audio Bibles offer a chance to hear God’s Word in someone’s heart language (Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

Meanwhile, churches in Nigeria’s South remain vibrant and committed to Christ.

“But unfortunately, their enthusiasm for the Lord hasn’t really translated into mobilization into the North,” Kelley points out. 

He says Christian missionaries from southern Nigeria are few and far between. Yet, the most effective ministries are those based in the Middle Belt and the North. Please pray for an expansion of missionary presence in these areas, and pray for the missionaries already working in this region. 

“And as we pray for the church of Nigeria to get mobilized,” Kelley encourages, “we need to look in the mirror and say, ‘How are we mobilized?’”

Header photo courtesy of Unknown Nations.