UN experts speak on rights violations against Nigeria’s female Christians  

​Contrary to the Nigerian federal government’s persistent denial of religious persecution, including killings, targeted at Christians, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has raised the alarm over credible reports of grave human rights violations against women and girls in Nigeria.

It said the violations included abductions, sexual violence, forced conversion, forced marriage, and enforced disappearance. It added that these attacks are disproportionately targeting Christian women and those from other religious minorities in the country’s northern and Middle Belt regions.

​Patterns of systematic abuse
​In a statement issued on 8th June, the UN experts noted that armed extremist groups, such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), remain active throughout northern Nigeria.

While the experts also acknowledged that broader farmer–herder conflicts contribute to widespread insecurity, they remarked specific, disturbing patterns of targeted abuse, spanning abductions from churches and schools, with victims often subjected to prolonged captivity, sexual violence, forced religious conversion, and forced marriage—frequently involving minors.

​The report provided harrowing examples of these trends:
•​Bauchi State: A 13-year-old girl was reportedly abducted and subjected to forced marriage and attempted conversion.
•​Community coercion: A 16-year-old girl suffered injuries after resisting a forced marriage allegedly orchestrated by armed actors within her community.

​The U.N. also highlighted the acute vulnerabilities of women and girls in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, where some survivors are forced to trade sexual favours for food, shelter, and other basic necessities.

In some instances, displaced persons have been forced to conceal their religious identity to avoid targeted harm in territories controlled by jihadi armed groups.

​Notable cases and impunity
​The statement referenced the 2018 abduction of Leah Sharibu from the Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi. Sharibu remains a powerful symbol of the unresolved crisis, having been held in captivity for years after reportedly refusing to renounce her Christian faith.

Furthermore, the report cited the 2022 killing of student Deborah Emmanuel in Sokoto following accusations of blasphemy as evidence of the ongoing dangers of mob violence and the culture of impunity surrounding religiously sensitive cases.

​Calls for accountability
The ​UN experts emphasised that these abuses may constitute violations of international human rights law, including the rights to life, liberty, security, and freedom of religion or belief, as well as protections against torture, slavery, and trafficking.

They urged Nigerian authorities that have shown ambivalence in being tough on perpetrators of these acts, to strengthen civilian protection, secure the release of abducted individuals, and ensure accountability through thorough, transparent investigations and prosecutions.

​Regional insecurity and underreporting
​The report underscored that these violations occur against a backdrop of chronic instability. Advocacy groups, including International Christian Concern (ICC), have noted that the Middle Belt continues to suffer from frequent village raids, church attacks, and mass displacement—particularly in Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, and Nasarawa states. Critics argue that the severity and systematic nature of violence against rural Christian communities are often underrepresented in international summaries of the conflict.

​ICC-linked reporting has long documented the destruction of livelihoods and the cycles of impunity caused by persistent judicial delays. The UN experts concluded by calling for urgent, multifaceted action: prioritising the protection of women and girls, expanding psychosocial and rehabilitation services for survivors, and conducting independent investigations into all allegations of serious human rights violations.

They warned that failing to address these cycles of violence risks deepening the suffering of civilian populations across northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt.