April 17, 2025
“They are blessed who work for peace, for they shall be called God’s children.” Matthew 5:9
Gideon Para-Mallam believes that we cannot wait for governments to end the cycle of violence in our communities and nations. We each have a role to play. The Nigerian minister, and founder of the Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, engages in peacebuilding work between Christians and Muslims, and advocates for the persecuted church.
Plateau State Governor Mutfwang has complemented the wide-reaching impact of the Gideon & Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, which has transformed the lives of many, including those in captivity. He noted that the Foundation has played a pivotal role in fostering unity and peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims, as well as among different ethnic communities across Plateau State and Nigeria.
Dr. Gideon Para-Mallam
Writing about systematic persecution in Nigeria and its implications, Para-Mallam notes that although Nigeria is officially not at war, what the church is witnessing is tantamount to a declaration of war against Christians. Especially in rural areas, Christians are being killed and dispossessed of their ancestral farmlands. Their homes are being burnt and many have been internally displaced or taken refuge in neighboring countries such as Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. Others are in captivity and slavery.
Other examples of persecution include denying Christian students places to meet for prayer, Bible study, and worship; denying Christians a Certificate of Occupancy for lands where church buildings are already in place; and abductions and forced marriages of young and under-aged Christian girls.
The government feeds the public and international community with misleading narratives and explanations for the terror. This makes it imperative to provide a coherent and factual account. Indeed, the situation has concerning implications for the future of Christianity, not only in Nigeria, but Africa and globally.
In a Mission Network News interview with Para-Mallam, they note that Nigerian Christians face challenges due to a lack of collaboration and resources.
“The discouragement is not even coming from the persecution, per se. The discouragement is coming more from leaders who need to get together to craft a response that’s biblical,” says Para-Mallam. “That’s not coming.”
The other challenge Para-Mallam notes is that when believers are systematically uprooted from their ancestral homelands, it leads to a lack of resources.
“In the last decades, the [form of] persecution [is] sustained in the sense that they’re uprooting Christians from their ancestral farmlands, their homelands,” Para-Mallam says.
“When you begin to uproot [a] large population of Christians from their ancestral homelands, it’s not a joke. Their houses are burnt, their farms destroyed, and on top of that, they have no place to go. It presents the huge challenge of humanitarian response, and when that [need] is not met, it can be very, very discouraging.”
Para-Mallam writes for the Lausanne movement about a Biblical response with seven steps for the church to follow when responding to terrorist attacks.
- PRAYER. Prayer in times of persecution promotes revival and revival promotes survival and transformation.
- UNITY. The global church needs to demonstrate love for the persecuted church through solidarity, advocacy, and publicity.
- ADVOCACY. Consistent activist advocacy is vitally needed in a context of persecution because of the fundamental violation of the right to life which is God-given.
- SITUATIONAL SURVEY and CONFLICT ANALYSIS. There is a need for well-documented empirical research into what is happening to Christians in Nigeria and around the world, and especially the impact of these attacks on the missional demographics of the church.
- SELF-DEFENSE. Grassroots mobilization to defend and police our communities through vigilantes is necessary.
- PROACTIVE INTERNAL SECURITY MEASURES. Heightened security consciousness has forced churches in many parts of Nigeria to adopt pragmatic measures to protect themselves.
- DIALOGUE and EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT. There is a need for interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims working together for peace and reconciliation.
Para-Mallam concludes his article by stating that terrorism in West Africa today thrives on religion, ignorance, and social disaffection. Christians in Nigeria are being killed with targeted precision.
The violence seems to never end. In the early hours of Monday, April 14th, gunmen reportedly killed over 30 villagers in Bassa communities. And last week, over 50 people were killed in several attacks launched by gunmen in various communities in Bokkos Local Government Area.
In an effort to demand an end to recent senseless attacks in the state and cry out for justice, Christian leaders in Plateau State are planning a protest on Easter Monday, called the “2nd Peace Walk Against Continuous Killings.” Para-Mallam, a member of the planning committee, said “We must not be silent. We must not allow their blood to cry out unheard.”