Nigeria is the deadliest place to be a Christian, says the ICC

The International Christian Concern (ICC) released a statement on Friday, stating that in terms of the number of deaths, Nigeria is the deadliest place to be a Christian.

In percentage terms, seventy percent of Christians killed around the world in 2012 died in Nigeria. According to William Stark of International Christian Concern (ICC), ”I think the actual number is 900 Christians were killed in 2012 in Nigeria. This year, it’s something like 150 [killed] at this point.”

The terrorist group Boko Haram has been mainly responsible for these Christian deaths as they have taken credit for “persecuting Christians in Nigeria, mostly in the northern region of the country.” As a result of the frequent attacks, the number of churchgoers in the Northern part of the country has greatly reduced.

ICC recently reported the murder of a Nigerian pastor, Faye Pama Musa. He was followed home by suspected Boko Haram militants, who pulled the pastor from his home and shot him. Musa who was a leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in his state of Borno was killed just minutes after Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, announced a state of emergency in the three states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.