Nigeria: 5 Muslim Men Receive Life Sentences for Rape of 10-Year-Old Christian Girl

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Five Muslim men, aged 21 to 25, were sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a 10-year-old Christian girl in September 2024 in Nigeria, in September 2024, according to International Christian Concern.

Christian advocate Abishag Sambo, who represented the girl as her attorney, discussed the case and the plight of Christian women in Nigeria in an interview with International Christian Concern (ICC).

“In the case of Mary, when this … happened, she was battered [and] wounded,” Sambo said. “She spent two months in the hospital. The little girl was damaged and in a bad condition. She was unconscious for weeks before God miraculously showed us mercy.”

Sambo explained the motive behind such attacks, stating, “The agenda of [certain Muslim extremists] is to capture Christian girls to provoke Christians to retaliate and war would start. And they do this because they don’t want Christians to live in the north.”

“They do it because they know the social stigma that is associated with rape,” he added.

“So, when they do that, they know it will also serve as a kind of shame for the girl. [Rape] is normally done in such a way that they would want to destroy the Christian girls. It’s used as a terrible punishment, too.”

Sambo revealed that the severity of Mary’s attack may leave her body permanently damaged.

“The young girl, we were told, medically may not be normal again,” Sambo said, “but we trust in a miracle God who does the impossible.”

The girl’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.

Christians in Nigeria, especially in the Muslim-majority north, face relentless violence from Islamic terrorists and armed “bandits.” More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else globally. Attacks often involve brutal killings, abductions, sexual violence, and destruction, forcing many from their homes and livelihoods, leaving behind grief and trauma.

In the 2025 Open Doors World Watch List, Nigeria ranked 7th among countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.

Worthy News has covered the Christian persecution crisis in Nigeria for over 25 years and continues to urge readers to pray and raise awareness for persecuted believers worldwide.

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