A Call from Canada: Andrew Scheer's Warning on Christian Persecution in Nigeria In a striking address to Canada's House of Commons ...
A Call from Canada: Andrew Scheer's Warning on Christian Persecution in Nigeria
In a striking address to Canada's House of Commons on October 3, 2025, Member of Parliament Andrew Scheer, representing Regina Qu'Appelle and former leader of the Conservative Party, issued an urgent plea to the international community. Scheer accused global leaders and media of "turning a blind eye" to what he described as a "systematic persecution" of Christians in Nigeria, likening it to a genocidal campaign orchestrated by terrorist groups like Boko Haram and allied militias, including Fulani herdsmen and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). His words, delivered with evident passion, echoed through Parliament and quickly amplified across social media, sparking a standing ovation from colleagues and drawing widespread attention to a crisis often overshadowed by other global conflicts.
Scheer's speech painted a harrowing picture of the violence plaguing Nigeria's Christian communities, particularly in the northern and Middle Belt regions. He cited alarming statistics: over 7,000 Christians killed in 2025 alone, 3.5 million displaced from their homes, and an average of three churches destroyed every single day. "The deadly terrorist organization Boko Haram is trying to eliminate the Christian faith from Nigeria," Scheer declared in a video he posted on X (formerly Twitter), recalling infamous atrocities like the 2014 abduction of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls and the burning alive of civilians in public squares. He described how surviving worshippers now "meet in secret or in burnt-out sanctuaries," forced into hiding to practice their faith amid constant threats.
These numbers, while shocking, align with reports from organizations tracking religious freedom. Open Doors, a global advocacy group for persecuted Christians, ranks Nigeria sixth on its 2025 World Watch List, noting that more believers are killed for their faith there than in any other country, over 5,000 annually in recent years, with attacks escalating in 2025.
The Catholic News Agency recently reported that at least 1,200 churches have been destroyed in the past year, with hundreds of priests and laypeople targeted in the southeast alone. Just days before Scheer's speech, on September 30, Boko Haram raided a village in northeastern Nigeria, killing four Christians and razing another church, displacing hundreds.
Family Writers Press International.
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