A violent terrorist attack on a church in Kwara State has reignited concerns over the escalating persecution of Christians in Nigeria, drawing sharp criticism from the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and intensifying scrutiny of the Tinubu administration’s stance on religious violence.
A video circulating online captured the terrifying moment armed men stormed a branch of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Isegun, in the Eruku community—a border town between Kogi and the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State. Witnesses said the gunmen invaded the church mid-service, killing at least three worshippers and abducting an unspecified number of others.
As gunshots rang out, worshippers led by a young pastor fled in panic. Moments later, more than five armed attackers entered the sanctuary, ransacked the premises, and carted away the congregation’s belongings.
Kwara State Police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi confirmed the incident on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, saying investigations were underway.
Rights Group Says Attack Reflects Broader Pattern of Persecution
In the wake of the attack, HURIWA threw its support behind U.S. lawmaker Riley Moore, who recently accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of denying the widespread killing and persecution of Christians across Nigeria.
The association, in a statement signed by Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, National Coordinator of HURIWA, on November 18, 2025, said Moore’s assessment reflects the “grim reality on the ground,” urging the U.S. Congress to heed former President Donald Trump’s earlier warnings and approve decisive military action against terrorist groups responsible for mass atrocities.
HURIWA argued that the Federal Government’s repeated dismissal of documented attacks is increasingly “suspicious,” noting that top officials defending the government’s position—including the President, Vice President, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Information—are all Muslims. According to the group, this configuration has contributed to a culture of denial that emboldens attackers and deepens impunity.
The U.S. lawmaker, in an interview on Fox News, described Tinubu’s remarks as “completely false,” accusing Nigerian leaders of being “complicit” in enabling extremist violence. Moore cited cases such as that of Sunday Jackson, the Adamawa Christian farmer sentenced to death after defending himself, as evidence of systemic religious bias.
Global Reports Highlight Alarming Scale of Violence
HURIWA reinforced its position with findings from multiple international watchdogs.
- Open Doors consistently ranks Nigeria among the world’s two most dangerous countries for Christians.
- Intersociety reported over 7,000 Christian deaths in 2023 alone and more than 50,000 since 2009 at the hands of Boko Haram, ISWAP, and armed Fulani militias.
- Amnesty International, the International Crisis Group, and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have all warned of targeted killings, mass abductions, sexual violence, and forced displacement.
Even global religious leaders have raised an alarm. HURIWA referenced the recent condemnation by Pope Leo XIV, who decried the “indiscriminate slaughter” of Christian communities and called on world powers to uphold their “international responsibility” to prevent further atrocities.
Calls for Global Intervention Intensify
The association urged the U.S. Congress to treat the upcoming hearing on Christian persecution in Nigeria as an urgent matter and to consider stronger measures— including approval of targeted U.S. military action against terrorist enclaves.
HURIWA said such action would send a clear message that the international community will no longer tolerate the mass killing of Christians. The organisation insisted that the Nigerian government must stop “shielding the truth” and instead embrace international cooperation to dismantle terror networks.
Warning that the pattern of attacks amounts to a “slow-motion genocide,” HURIWA called on global democracies to stand firmly with vulnerable Christian communities across Nigeria.
Watch the video of the attack below.
