Comedian Bill Maher has criticised the media for its silence on the Christian genocide taking place in Nigeria. The television host and political commentator said during Friday’s episode of his talk show, Real Time with Bill Maher, that there is a lack of discussion on the issue because “Jews aren’t involved”.
“Nigeria, the fact that this issue has not gotten on people’s radar, it’s pretty amazing,” Maher said. “If you don’t know what’s going on in Nigeria, your media sources are poor. You are in a bubble.”
South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, one of Maher’s guests, suggested the mainstream media is ignoring it because it is happening in Africa.
As Premier Christian News has previously reported, religious persecution in Nigeria has reached unprecedented levels since 2009. Extremist groups and armed militias have killed more than 52,000 Christians across the country. According to Persecution.org, more than 20,000 churches, seminaries, and Christian institutions have been destroyed.
As The Christian Post notes, Nigeria is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians. Open Doors ranks it as the seventh most dangerous place for Christians on its World Watch List.
“I’m not a Christian, but they are systematically killing the Christians in Nigeria,” Maher said.
He added: “These are the Islamists, Boko Haram. This is so much more of a genocide attempt than what is going on in Gaza. They are literally attempting to wipe out the Christian population of an entire country. Where are the students protesting this?”
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has recently introduced legislation to help protect Christians and other religious minorities from widespread persecution in the West African country. The Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 aims to hold Nigerian officials accountable by imposing “real costs” on leaders who facilitate persecution.
The legislation proposes targeted sanctions, including additional travel bans and asset freezes, for officials the U.S. suspects of enabling violence and enforcing repressive blasphemy laws.