Christians in Nigeria are discriminated against by receiving less food than the rest

Nigerian Christians face discrimination as the country struggles to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Open Doors says that in one area of Nigeria, the Christian minority receives only one-sixth of the food rations given to other members of the community. The charity said that others feel they have been “diverted to the back of the queue to receive help and be forgotten”.

Although Nigeria has so far recorded just over 1,500 cases of the disease, experts predict that Africa could suffer an increase in infection in the coming months.

Christians are blamed for spreading the virus

“We are only at the dawn of this pandemic’s development in this part of Africa,” said spokesperson Jo Newhouse, according to The Express. “There are many concerns for Christian minorities, including the economic impact of continued violence against Christians in the midst of the lockdown, the marginalization of Christians, especially [converts], and the fact that Christians are being blamed for causing the virus”.

Christians around the world have suffered increased persecution because of the emergence of theories that blame them for the spread of the coronavirus.

In the war-torn nation of Somalia, the native Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaab has been sending a false message to the Muslim community that the coronavirus is being spread “by the crusading (Christian) forces that have invaded the country and the unbelieving countries that support them”.

Similarly, in Uganda, the radicalized Islamic community has been blaming Chinese Christians for the coronavirus outbreak, they argue that Allah is punishing them for burning copies of the Koran. Open Doors noted that many hardline Muslims were “threatening to kill anyone who first identifies himself as positive for the coronavirus”.