By Abah Anthony John
ACI Africa, Jan 31, 2025 / 06:00 am
The vice chancellor of Nigeria’s Veritas University, a priest in the Awka Diocese, has encouraged journalists in the west African nation to expose Christian persecution, which is at its highest peak in the country.
In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on the sidelines of an event that members of St. Josephine Bakhita Community of Salesians of St. John Bosco organized to mark the feast of Don Bosco, Father Hyacinth Ementa Ichoku described persecution as an enduring feature of Christian history.
“Persecution has always been part of the Christian story, right from its inception. There’s no moment when believers are not being persecuted,” Ichoku told ACI Africa on Jan. 29.
“Persecution doesn’t always mean people are being killed,” he said. “When you deny people their rights because of their beliefs, that’s persecution. For instance, being denied a promotion at work or access to land for building a church, these are subtle yet significant forms of oppression.”
“When the government makes it a policy to persecute people because of their faith and beliefs, it becomes dangerous. Using the power of the state to target a group is a grave injustice,” he said.
Ichoku noted that persecution that goes unnoticed eventually becomes more heinous. “But if those who have a voice can give publicity to these injustices, it transforms the issue into a public concern that demands action,” he said.
“Christian journalists and media practitioners must see their job as a vocation that they need to use to expose any form of Christian persecution and any form of discrimination against the body of Christ.
