What changed

B100345/2026

European Parliament resolution on the ongoing persecution of Christians in Nigeria, notably the Kawel village massacre

European Parliament resolution on ongoing persecution of Christians in Nigeria, notably the Kawel village massacre

(2026/2800(RSP))

– having regard to RuleRules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to its previous resolutions on Nigeria,

A. whereas in June 2026, a brutal armed attack on civilians in the Kawel village, Plateau State, caused dozens of deaths among the local Christian community, widespread injuries, and infrastructure damage, reflecting the tragic intersection of ethnic-religious tensions and resource conflicts;

having regard to the recent reports and statements by the United Nations, the European Union, the Holy See, and international human rights and peacebuilding organizations regarding the security and humanitarian crisis in Nigeria,

B. whereas, despite repeated warnings from local communities, churches, and human rights and civil society organisations, the Nigerian authorities have been unable to prevent such attacks, provide adequate protection to vulnerable Christian populations and vulnerable communities in general, ensure timely and effective intervention, or carry out thorough investigations and prosecutions;

whereas in June 2026, a brutal armed attack on civilians in the Kawel community, Plateau State, caused dozens of deaths among the local Christian community, widespread injuries, and infrastructure damage, reflecting the tragic intersection of ethnic-religious tensions and resource conflicts;

C. whereas this attack forms part of a wider pattern of violence in Plateau State and the Middle Belt, including attacks on predominantly Christian farming communities, traditional leaders, clergy, schools, health facilities and places of worship;

whereas international reports indicate that regional insecurity inflicts severe suffering across religious lines, as armed non-state actors indiscriminately target civilian populations of all faiths and their places of worship;

D. whereas systemic violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is driven by a complex combination of religious, ethnic and intercommunal tensions, farmer-herder conflicts, land and water disputes, organised crime, extremist activity, climate pressures and persistent impunity;

whereas the Middle Belt region faces an intensifying conflict over land and scarce natural resources, worsened by climate change, desertification, and environmental degradation, forcing nomadic pastoralists southward into areas occupied by sedentary agrarian communities;

E. whereas Christians are among the most persecuted religious groups globally, and the failure to address this persecution undermines the protection of freedom of religion or belief;

whereas these long-standing socio-economic tensions over dwindling arable land and water access are frequently instrumentalized by militant groups to inflame identity-based, ethnic, and religious animosities;

1. Strongly condemns all violence perpetrated against civilians in Kawel and the wider Middle Belt; particularly deplores the disproportionate impact on women and girls, and firmly denounces the alarming rise in targeted abductions and kidnappings; expresses its deepest condolences to the families of all victims and all those affected by this horrific attack, including the Christian community of Plateau State;

whereas retaliatory violence is fueled by structural failures in local intelligence, absence of independent accountability, lack of an effective local judicial system, unregulated vigilante groups, and the erosion of socio-economic resilience among rural youth, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by militant groups;

2. Urges the Nigerian federal and state authorities to conduct a thorough, transparent, and independent investigation into the Kawel massacre to bring perpetrators to justice and end the culture of impunity;

Strongly condemns all violence perpetrated against civilians in Kawel and the wider Middle Belt, particularly deploring the disproportionate impact on women and girls, explicitly denouncing the alarming rise in targeted abductions and kidnapping for ransom;

3. Calls on the Nigerian Government to strengthen both counterterrorism operations against armed militants, particularly in the Middle Belt region, and efforts to counter Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province;

Expresses deepest condolences to the victims' families and solidarity with those affected and displaced;

4. Calls on the Nigerian Government to remedy intelligence failures, improve early-warning sharing, strengthen state-led civilian protection, invest in regional mediation, implement sustainable land management policies, foster food security and address ecological drivers;

Urges Nigerian federal and state authorities to conduct a thorough, transparent, and independent investigation into the Kawel massacre to bring perpetrators to justice and break the culture of impunity;

5. Supports efforts to set up a meaningful and inclusive national dialogue to tackle the ongoing violence across multiple regions, and underlines the need to address the socio-economic factors linked to these attacks;

Calls upon the Nigerian Government to remedy intelligence failures, improve early-warning sharing, strengthen state-led civilian protection, invest in regional mediation, and implement sustainable land-management policies to address ecological drivers while respecting the rights and security of all local communities;

6. Reaffirms its unwavering commitment to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;

Reaffirms its unwavering commitment to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; recalls the state’s obligation to ensure the equality before the law of all citizens and the full, non-discriminatory respect for all places of worship and religious sites;

7. Calls on the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU to pay particular attention to the deteriorating situation of Christians and all persecuted religious communities in Nigeria;

Rejects the reductive and oversimplified classification of this multi-layered crisis, emphasizing that its causes stem from geopolitical and systemic drivers rooted in endemic poverty, lack of stable livelihoods, and socio-economic marginalization, and strongly opposes the instrumentalization of religion to fuel, escalate, or brutalize conflicts;

8. Urges the Nigerian Government to address the situation of internally displaced persons effectively by providing adequate temporary shelter and prioritising their safe return to their home communities;

Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to intensify conflict-mediation efforts and urges the international community to increase humanitarian assistance to address hunger and malnutrition crises, expressing deep concern that severe food insecurity in Nigeria has risen to 36.2 million people, exceeding previous alarming estimates;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, and the Government and Parliament of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Government and Parliament of Nigeria, the AU, and EU institutions.