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Christian girls and women in northern Nigeria are being forced to convert to Islam and marry militants, United Nations experts said on Monday, describing a “horrifying picture” of violence and coercion targeting religious minorities.
In a statement, UN experts raised alarm over credible reports of killings, abductions, sexual violence, forced conversion and enforced disappearances targeting Christian and other religious minority communities, particularly women and girls.
“We are particularly alarmed at the very specific and heightened risks of discrimination, violence and exploitation that Christian women and girls are exposed to,” the experts said.
In a communication to the Nigerian government, the experts noted multiple incidents, including the forced conversion and child marriage of a 13-year-old girl in Bauchi State.
They also cited a brutal attack against a 16-year-old Christian girl whose hand was reportedly cut off after her family rejected a forced marriage proposal by militants.
Other incidents included the abduction and sexual assault of Christian women and the disappearance of girls abducted from a church in Borno State.
“These reports are deeply troubling,” the experts said.
“The testimonies we have received paint a horrifying picture of fear, trauma, coercion and abandonment.”
They said the “deteriorating security situation in northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt has created an environment in which armed extremist groups, including Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, and radicalised individual herdsmen involved in the ‘farmer-herder’ conflict, continue to operate with devastating consequences for civilians, amid persistent reports of impunity, institutional failures, and inadequate protection by authorities.”
The experts warned that women and girls who resist forced conversion or marriage face severe consequences.
“In many cases, those who resist are reportedly threatened, punished, disappeared or killed,” they said.
They added that displaced Christian and other minority women and girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse, including coercion into sexual acts in exchange for food or basic necessities.
Some women and girls reportedly conceal their religious identity or wear hijabs as a survival strategy to avoid violence or gain acceptance in areas under the control of armed or religious groups, the experts noted.
“If confirmed, these allegations may amount to serious violations of international human rights law,” the experts said.
These include violations of the rights to life, safety, liberty, security, freedom of religion or belief, freedom from torture, enforced disappearance, slavery and trafficking, and the rights of women and children.
The experts urged Nigerian authorities to take immediate measures to protect those at risk, secure the release and recovery of abducted girls and women, ensure thorough investigations, prosecute perpetrators, and guarantee support for victims.
“Impunity for these crimes only fuels further violence,” they said.
“Nigerian authorities must act urgently to prevent further irreparable harm and ensure accountability for all violations.”
