For years now, press and politicians have been obsessed with the so-called “genocide” in Gaza, but the genocide in sub-Saharan Africa is seldom mentioned. The perennial turmoil in the Middle East has dominated media and politics for decades, but the ongoing slaughter particularly in Nigeria during the past 16 years has been no less brutal, cruel, and gruesome. Why is one crisis internationally and regularly bemoaned and the other seemingly tacitly ignored?

Gaza is certainly war-torn, and the resident Palestinian people have suffered for years, but it has been the choice of their leadership to insist that their neighbor, Israel, must be annihilated. Palestinian terror attacks on Israeli civilians have continued for years, and two years ago, Hamas ruthlessly murdered over 1,200 Israeli civilians, thereby precipitating an intense counterattack by Israel that has almost eradicated Hamas. The ensuing war the past two years has been severe, but Israel has habitually warned civilians prior to military operations and consistently offered peace if only Hamas will lay down their arms.

The massacres in Nigeria have gone unabated since the 2009 Boko Haram rebellion. The conflict in Nigeria, which spills over to its neighbors, has many factions, so neatly defined alignments are elusive. However, the mayhem is largely manifested as "Muslims attacking Christians." Over 100,000 people have been murdered, many tortured, burned alive, and hacked to death. Often entire villages are wiped out. The myriad killings are grotesque and vicious, but they somehow routinely fail to get much international attention.

The Nigerian government seems not only powerless to stem the murderous violence but also sadly somewhat indifferent. Their official stance is that the turmoil is not religious, but rather criminal, ethnic, and socio-economic struggle over resources. Aside from rampant killing, pillaging, and raping, kidnapping people for ransom is common, but the systematic persecution of Christians is undeniable.

Mosques that do not embrace Jihad are sometimes targeted, but over 19,000 churches have been destroyed – an average of 1,200 a year or over three a day. According to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, over 145 priests have been kidnapped, 11 murdered, and 4 missing since 2015. Just this year, at least 15 priests have been kidnapped; and Intersociety reports that 250+ Catholic clergy and 350+ Protestant clergy have been assaulted.

Militant Jihadists regularly kidnap children and convert them to Islam if they don’t force them into sex trafficking. Almost daily, villages are plundered and villagers massacred, so over 15 million people are displaced trying to escape the bloodshed. Nigerian police and military are either incompetent or complicit, so they cannot or will not stop the violence. The corruption is pervasive through every level of government, so Nigeria is increasingly looking like a failed state.

The years-long slaughter occasionally gets cursory mention at the United Nations but little action. The media barely notices, if at all; the persistent violence has tragically become just noise. CNN commentator Van Jones postulates that the genocide in Nigeria is ignored because the victims are black; he wonders if it is racism. Perhaps Western media just considers it an African problem, but the media howls over alleged mistreatment of black and brown illegal migrants.

If Africans illegally entering Europe can easily grab media attention, why can Africans being massacred in Africa not get any media attention? Antisemitism or Islamophobia instantly gets headlines, but persecution of Christians seldom makes the news. According to World Watch List 2025, over 380 million Christians worldwide face high levels of discrimination and persecution. BBC research estimates about 9,000 Christians are killed every year for their faith and 90% of those are in Nigeria.

When 3 churches a day are attacked, militant Jihadists in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa are certainly targeting Christians for violence. Their sustained and steadfast slaughter of Christians is by definition genocide because their victims are singled out specifically for their Christian faith. The murderous campaign against Christians is intended to systematically eradicate Christians from Nigeria. And the Nigerian government has no answer.

The wanton massacre of Christians is heart-breaking and unconscionable, so why is there little action to stop the slaughter? The short answer is the world has little affinity nor concern for Christians, so it’s solely up to Christians to defend themselves and their brothers. Western governments should impose tough economic sanctions on Nigeria until they take serious measures to stop this genocide. Christians cannot expect or depend on the Nigerian government or other governments to intervene, so Christian organizations should not just send food – they need to cooperate to arm Nigerian Christians to defend themselves.

The constant stories of churches burned, villages razed, and Christians, including children, murdered is gruesome and heart-wrenching, but it’s all so far away, many Christians may feel helpless and worry it’s hopeless. However, the battle is God’s, so every Christian can pray for deliverance of Nigerian Christians. Get involved in spreading awareness, demand sanctions, and donate – but most of all, pray!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.