'Our eyes are on God': 16.2M Christians forced from their homes in sub-Saharan Africa

Pastor Barnabas is among millions of Christ-followers living in overcrowded displacement camps in Nigeria after Fulani militants attacked the pastor, his late brother and his brother's late wife while they were on their farm in 2019.  

Armed with guns, machetes and sticks, one of the terrorists broke Barnabas' hand with a stick, an injury that still impacts him five years later. While he was fortunate enough to escape the onslaught, his brother, Everen, and brother's wife, Friday, were not. 

"Now, I have lost everything that I had," Barnabas was quoted as saying in the new report "No Road Home" from the Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors detailing the massive displacement of Christians across sub-Saharan Africa. "Everything in my home and village was burnt; I was left with nothing."

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For the past five years, Barnabas and his family have lived in a camp filled with 5-foot tents made of used cardboard and plastics. People in the camp struggle daily to find work and provide food for their families. To this day, Barnabas' hand is still damaged, but he can't afford the medical treatment he needs. 

Living at an IDP camp, Barnabas serves as a minister for his fellow Christians who are forced to live there due to violent persecution. 

"Millions of Christians are displaced here in Nigeria ... [as well as] in the whole of Africa," Barnabas said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. "We are remaining in the darkness."

Open Doors, which monitors Christian persecution in over 60 countries, reports that over 32 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, half (16.2 million) of whom are Christians, have fled from their homes in recent years due to increasing violence often perpetrated by Islamic extremist groups or groups of radicalized Fulani herders who have killed tens of thousands in predominantly Christian farming communities in the last decade.

The organization's new report is based on data gathered from two states in Nigeria, where violence has resulted in the mass displacement of Christian communities and made the nation among the top 10 IDP-hosting countries worldwide.

"[Christian IDPs'] minds have been discouraged," Barnabas said. "And as a pastor in the camp, [who is also] displaced, I don't have anything to give them. We only pray together and share the Word of God together. Our eyes are on [God]. ... Our hope is [in] Him. We put our confidence [in] Him. We believe He is great. He will do it, more than we have expected."

Open Doors warns the region is one of the most violent places in the world for believers of Jesus. Although violence has impacted both Christians and non-Christians, Open Doors notes that "recorded testimonies indicate that Boko Haram, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and militant Fulani groups have deliberately targeted Christians or Christian communities, their livelihood, faith leaders and places of worship."

"Nigerian state security personnel regularly failed to respond in a timely or effective manner to violent attacks against Christians," the report continued. "This failure created distrust in the security forces among Christians. Furthermore, widespread impunity by the state for the perpetrators of violence encouraged an environment where more violence and greater displacement can and does take place."

Figures from the International Organization for Migration indicate that the Borno state hosts 74% of IDPs in the northeast region of Nigeria, Open Doors relays. As of December 2023, the IOM reported 1.7 million IDPs were hosted in the Borno state alone. 

"Of the 1.7 million in Borno, 74% were displaced before 2021, illustrating how many IDPs have been dealing with the harsh realities of displacement settings for many years," the report stated. "A further 68% of IDPs have been displaced two or more times."

The Plateau state hosted 54,457 IDPs by December 2023, according to data cited by Open Doors. Researchers contacted local agencies such as the Mwaghavul Development Association, which reported a higher number of IDPs. The MDA documented 103,000 IDPs in Mangu LGA as of January 2024, according to Open Doors.

Open Doors contends this discrepancy illustrates the challenges in documenting IDPs throughout the Plateau state and the need for further research into the issue. 

Open Doors U.S. CEO Ryan Brown said that sub-Saharan Africa is the "most violent place in the world for Christians," saying faith-related deaths in the region have "outstripped" those of any other region in the annual Open Doors World Watch List report for the last half-decade.

The World Watch List is Open Doors' annual report ranking countries based on how dangerous it is to be a Christian there.

Among the recommendations in the "No Road Home" report, Open Doors urged the media to raise awareness about the issue of the massive displacement of Christians and the violence they face from extremist groups. The nonprofit wants Christian communities in the West to speak up for their brothers and sisters in Christ and to keep them in prayer.