The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Nazila Ghanea, has warned that worsening insecurity in Nigeria was deepening fears of religious polarisation, weakening trust in state protection and fuelling widespread human rights concerns across affected communities.
Speaking at the end of an 11-day fact-finding mission to the country, including engagements in Abuja, Ghanea said testimonies from victims, civil society actors, religious leaders and security officials painted a troubling picture of persistent violence driven by terrorism, banditry, kidnappings and mass displacement, with many communities repeatedly exposed to attacks and left without meaningful access to justice.
She said discussions on freedom of religion during her visit were largely overshadowed by accounts of destruction of villages, forced displacement and the collapse of livelihoods.
She added that in several locations residents described being compelled to enter informal “peace arrangements” with armed groups, including surrendering farmland and accepting coercive conditions in order to survive recurring attacks.
The UN envoy expressed concern that the continued absence of accountability in many of these cases was entrenching cycles of fear and contributing to what she described as growing perceptions of abandonment by the state.
While acknowledging that Nigerian authorities often point to being overstretched by multiple security threats, she said victims increasingly view the response as inadequate given the scale and persistence of violence.
Ghanea also raised concern over what she described as indications of religious profiling in parts of governance and public administration, citing reports that religion is still required on some official forms linked to education, employment and access to services.
She warned that such practices risked reinforcing divisions in a country already grappling with sensitive interfaith relations.
Michael Olugbode, Sunday Aborisade, Linus Aleke, Segun Awofadeji and Ibrahim Shuaibu
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