Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look, and an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

Christians in Nigeria are paying for their faith like no one else in the world right now.

Attacks from Muslim extremists were once limited to mostly sacred holidays like Easter and Christmas,

but today they're almost continuous.

This year alone,

the slaughter of Nigerian Christians has hit an unprecedented level. According to a Newsreak report, over 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in just the first 220 days of 2025.

That's an average of 35 killed a day. That's why I joined 33 other leaders of various

Christian organizations this week to appeal to President Donald Trump to declare Nigeria a country

of particular concern. Last month, the U.S. Senate took up a bill to do the same. Just days later,

Nigeria's House of Representatives

unanimously rejected the designation. But the letter to the president made a very strong case

for the designation. Quote, U.S. law warrants CPC designation when a country is found to be

tolerating serious violations of religious freedom, as well as when

itself carries out violations. The Nigerian government is directly violating religious freedom

by enforcing Islamic blasphemy laws that carry the death penalty and harsh prison sentences

against citizens of various religions. It also demonstrably tolerates relentless

aggression uniquely against Christian farming families by militant Fulani Muslim herders,

who appear intent on forcibly Islamizing the Middle Belt. The letter then continues,

quote, Nigeria's government allows the militant Fulani herders

to attack defenseless middle belt Christians with complete impunity.

It fails to investigate the Fulani organizational structures and identify who's arming them.

...