Peace accord seeks to bridge Nigeria’s religious divides
By Katey Hearth | August 19, 2026
Nigeria (MNN) — More than 50 Christian and Muslim leaders have signed a peace accord in Nigeria. Leaders met at a conference in Abuja organized by the Muslim World League, an Islamic NGO based in Saudi Arabia.
Unknown Nations’ Greg Kelley says the pact sends a message: “People having to live in this kind of terror is not acceptable, and we as faith leaders are coming together and agreeing that we stand united against it.”
A reign of terror
Nigeria’s 200 million people are divided largely along regional religious lines. Most Nigerian Muslims live in the northern part of the country, while Christians live predominantly in the south.
Both religious groups fall victim to radicals. The Islamist group Boko Haram began terrorizing northern Nigeria in 2009. Attacks have only increased in scope and come from a wider range of perpetrators since then.
“It initially started as the radical Islamic ideology targeting Christians, particularly schools. Boko Haram literally means, in the Hausa language, ‘Western education is evil’,” Kelley says.
Persecution in Nigeria comes from a complex mix of sources. Islamist groups attack Christians and Muslims who oppose their ideology. Armed Fulani herdsmen carry out deadly attacks on predominantly Christian farming communities.
Finally, bandit gangs also target religious communities, while inadequate security and accountability from the government allow violence to continue.
Healing religious divides
Christian and Muslim leaders say the Abuja peace accord symbolizes a new chapter.
“It’s been decades that Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen and all these different gangs have been kidnapping people, terrorizing people. We’re not going to control those guys,” Kelley says.
“But if there’s unity [between] Islamic and Christian leaders, where they’re not looking at each other as enemies, that’s a positive sign.”
Pray for church planters who partner with Unknown Nations to share Christ in northern Nigeria. Pray for Gospel access in Muslim communities, so that entire villages may come to know Jesus.
See what happened when one Hausa village received audio Scripture.
“Pray that leaders representing the Hausa, the Fulani, and the Kanuri would come to the knowledge of Jesus, because when that happens, we could see revival throughout northern Nigeria, which is dominated by Islam,” Kelley says.
“When Muslim leaders come to know Christ, it’s like a domino effect.”
Header image is a representative AI photo generated by ChatGPT.
Original Article Posted Here: https://www.mnnonline.org/news/peace-accord-seeks-to-bridge-nigerias-religious-divides/