International Christian Concern’s (ICC) 2026 Global Persecution Index spotlights intensifying oppression and execution of Jesus’ disciples in Nigeria and Iran.

Thousands of Nigerian Christians are annihilated annually, and nearly 15 million have been exiled from their homes into overcrowded refugee camps by terror groups such as Boko Haram, the ISIS-aligned Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Fulani militia, while in Iran, the report documents the Islamic regime’s decades-long campaign of surveilling, prosecuting and even outright killing of Christians. Evangelization by Christians is strictly forbidden, and the Holy Bible is outlawed.

The ICC’s persecution index aims at the Nigerian government’s apparent complicity in this slaughter, noting that 12 of the country’s 36 states enforce Sharia law, including a death penalty for “blasphemy” even though Nigeria’s population of more than 242 million is approximately 55-per-cent Muslim and 45-per-cent Christian.

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Another troubling reality illuminated in the document is how the extremist militants are given free rein to mass murder as “across the country, authorities refuse to protect churches and other high-risk targets, instead retreating to the relative safety of regional military bases and typically only responding to attacks hours or days after the attackers have left the area.”

The Catholic Register has reported on this matter for well over a year now, including verbal attacks and death threats directed at Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Makurdi because of his testimony in front of the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, where he expressly warned about the “militant Fulani herdsmen.”

“They steal and vandalize, they kill and boast about it, they kidnap and rape, and they enjoy total impunity from the elected authorities,” stated Anagbe during his March 12, 2025, testimony.  “None of them have been arrested and brought to justice. This is supported by the corrupt system in which we operate, and the abject poverty among us, which allows the criminals to easily attract more recruits and prey on more victims.”

A June 30 study from the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) — promoted by the ICC and other agencies aiding persecuted Christians — emphasizes the gravity of the Fulani menace. Of the 42,033 civilian killings in Nigeria from 2020-25, according to this ORFA study, Boko Haram and (ISWAP) — the terror groups most blamed for violence — together carried out 12 per cent.” Meanwhile, “militias categorized as ‘Fulani Terror Groups’ killed 44 per cent of all civilians — four times the killing of Boko Haram and ISWAP combined.”

Summarizing the findings, OFRA senior research analyst Frans Vierhout said: “‘Nigeria is incubating a terror network which the outside world has yet to acknowledge.”

Dr. Shawn Wright, the president of the ICC, relayed to the Register how he narrowly evaded abduction by the Fulani terrorists during a visit to Christian communities in Nigeria back in June.

“One of the (methods) they use to raise money is kidnappings,” said Wright. “It was evident that I, our regional director and another Nigerian we were travelling with were targeted for kidnapping and we were able to elude them and get away. It is certainly a real and present danger.

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“There are also a lot of rich cattle people who are Fulani pushing money in, and there are also some reports of money outside-the-country funding of these extremists attacking Christians."

Wright agrees with the assessment that outside global leaders, particularly U.S. President Donald Trump, “are concentrating on Boko Haram and ISIS when we really need to be more focused on the Fulani.”

Trump has not yet acknowledged the Fulani in any of his public comments or Truth Social posts about Christian persecution in Nigeria, which the U.S. Department of State designated a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). The air strikes he authorized on Christmas Day 2025 were against ISIS camps in Sokoto State, and a May 16 raid was carried out against ISIS leader Abu-Bilal al-Minuki.

Wright said there are ongoing efforts to get the Trump administration to shift its attention towards the Fulani.

“We are providing our reporting to the State Department, (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom) and contacts in the White House. They're getting the information,” said Wright. “Whether or not that's making it to the Oval Office is a different story.”

In Iran, there is evidence to suggest the state’s crackdown against Christianity is intensifying during the ongoing geopolitical conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Earlier this month, Iranian authorities seized the 150-year-old St. Peter’s Evangelical Church in Tehran and evicted the 27 Armenian and Assyrian Christian dwellers.  

But despite all the centralized efforts to snuff out Christianity, the fact remains Iran boasts the fastest-growing Christian movement in the world.

“Many Iranian Muslims are converting to Christianity through dreams, visions and also just being exposed to the Gospel message,” said Işık Abla, a formerly devout Muslim turned online Christian minister and broadcaster. “They are hungry and thirsty for truth, and they are finding Jesus Christ and the Good News, the Gospel, very liberating and are surrendering their lives to Jesus.”

Pastor Amir Khedmati, who leads spiritual gatherings and Bible studies for the Persian community at Emmanuel Anglican Church in Richmond Hill, Ont., told the Register earlier this year how Romans 5:20 — “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” — is being epitomized in Iran.

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“What we are seeing in Iran is deep chaos and pain, but also the work of the Holy Spirit bringing awakening and hope, much like Genesis 1:2, where darkness covered the earth and the Spirit of God was hovering, preparing to bring life and order.”

Visit persecution.org to access the 2026 Global Persecution Index, which also documents global trends in religious freedom repression and provides regional snapshots of Christian persecution.