Christian in Nigeria Describes Living ‘Ready to Die’ Amid Violence, Persecution

WARNING: This report contains graphic photographs that some readers may find disturbing. These images are included to document violence against Christians and have been selected carefully to inform, rather than sensationalize.

Lawrence Zongo did not smile until asked about his faith.  

“I’m a Christian,” he said with joy in his voice.

That statement could get him killed.  

“Living as a Christian here in Nigeria is … living ready that at any time you will be killed,” Zongo told The Daily Signal during a video call from his small community in central Nigeria. 

Like thousands of other Christians in Nigeria, Zongo and his wife have lost loved ones at the hands of Islamic terrorist groups that have gained significant power in the African nation over the past 15 years.  

In October 2021, Zongo’s cousin Reuben was shot and killed by Muslim Fulani militants. The Fulani are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group living in Nigeria’s North West and North East states. Earlier this year, Zongo’s wife lost eight family members during an attack on a local village. 

“Anytime I’m going out … I may die,” Zongo said. “Sometimes, [when] I’m going, I will just tell my wife, ‘If I die, do this, do this.’” 

“We are a people that now, we’re ready to die. We plan our death. We know that we can die at any time,” he said.  

The persecution of Christians in Nigeria has gained international attention, including from President Donald Trump, who announced Friday that he will designate Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.”

“When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done! I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Moore is a West Virginia Republican. Cole is an Oklahoma Republican.

“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries,” the president said. “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”

Nigeria is roughly a half-Christian/half-Muslim nation. The Muslim extremist groups operating in Nigeria, such as the Islamic State-West Africa Province and Boko Haram, not only persecute Christians, but also war with each other.  

In northern Nigeria, where the violent radical Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram primarily operates, thousands of churches have been destroyed since 2009.  

Christians have faced persecution in Nigeria for more than two decades, but violence against followers of Jesus grew far worse with the rise of Boko Haram in 2009, according to Global Christian Relief.

Boko Haram translates to “Western education is forbidden” and has been labeled the world’s deadliest terrorist group, according to the Brookings Institute.  

It is estimated that more than 50,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2009, and about 7,000 in the first half of 2025 alone, according to Concerned Women for America.  

In Zongo’s community alone, he says, more than 2,000 people have been killed since 2017.  

Zongo, 39, was raised praying and memorizing Scripture in a Christian home and accepted Jesus Christ as his savior in 2005. Since then, he has proclaimed the Gospel to Muslims, “pagans,” and young people in Nigeria.  

Today, Zongo works as a journalist for Truth Nigeria and has been critical of the Nigerian government, military, and law enforcement for failing to do more to protect Christians from persecution.  

“The police are not willing to do their work,” Zongo said. “They’re paid by the government [and] if they do the right thing, they’ll be sacked,” he said, adding, “If you are doing the writing here in Nigeria, you will never make it.” 

As someone who writes about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, Zongo says he has to be very careful when he travels in Nigeria, especially when on “government premises.”  

“You will not make money in Nigeria if you are saying the truth. If you are lying as a journalist, you [can] build many houses, you [can] buy cars. You will do a lot of things if you are lying,” he said. “But if you are saying the truth, you will not make it.”  

Asked why he has chosen to continue following Jesus Christ and speak boldly about his faith, Zongo referred to a Scripture passage found in the book of Matthew in the Bible.  

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 5:10 reads.  

“My reward is going to be in heaven, that one day I will be with Christ after the crisis here on earth,” he said. “Let me be with Christ at the end.” 

Zongo asks that Christians around the world “come and give us support, as they are praying” for their following of Christ in Nigeria.  

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