Press Release
“Nigeria and Pakistan:
Different Scenarios, Same Persecution”

16 March 2026

The Universal Christian Church of the New Jerusalem offers her deepest condolences for the latest wave of violence committed against Christians in Nigeria and Pakistan.

During the night of 9 March, more than twenty armed militiamen raided homes one by one in the community of Dutsen Gayya in Nigeria, dragging away 15 Christians, including a newborn baby named Samaila. In many cases, families paid the ransom but failed to secure the release of their loved ones.

On 13 March, in Lahore, Pakistan, Salati Masih, a young Christian man, was brutally murdered with iron bars and knives. Although a suspect person has been arrested, the tragedy has reignited urgent questions about the protection of Christian minorities also in this country.

The Church lifts up her prayer to the heart of the Father, – the refuge of profound love for the families of all the victims, – and calls upon the relevant authorities to intervene rigorously and resolutely in safeguarding the persecuted Christians in these regions of the world.

“God is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble”
(Psalm 9:9)