American rapper Nicki Minaj has revealed that her connection to Nigeria is the reason behind her response to the increasing attacks on Christians in the country.

She explained that Nigeria holds deep significance for her, adding that reports of attacks on Christians have been distressing.

She also disclosed that her pastor is Nigerian and noted that she receives strong support from fans in the country, popularly known as “Nigerian barbs.”

“Nigeria is a place I’ve always loved. Someone very dear to me, my pastor, is Nigerian, and I have lots of Nigerian barbs. So hearing that people are being kidnapped while they’re in church, people are being killed, brutalised, all because of their religion that should spark outrage,” she said during a surprise appearance at AmericaFest, where she took questions from the audience.

The rapper noted that remaining silent only fuels oppression, making it clear that she is no longer willing to keep quiet about issues of faith and persecution.

“We’re not backing down anymore. We are not going to be silenced by the bullies anymore. We will speak up for Christians wherever they are in this world,” she said.

The Trinidadian-American rapper took the stage at a high-profile United Nations forum in New York to highlight claims of increasing attacks on Christians in Nigeria and to call for urgent global action.

Organisers say her appearance was arranged by Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to US President Donald Trump. She spoke at a panel where US officials outlined the administration’s concerns about religious violence in the West African nation.

Minaj began by admitting she felt nervous but grateful for the opportunity to address the forum. She thanked US Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz and President Trump for prioritising the issue, describing her intervention as a moral duty rather than a partisan act.

She told attendees that protecting worshippers everywhere is about "uniting humanity" and said her fans, the Barbz, "will never stand down in the face of injustice."

Her remarks combined personal reflection with vivid descriptions of churches destroyed, families torn apart, and communities living in fear.

The appearance followed a flurry of comments from Washington that had already escalated tensions.

In recent weeks, President Trump publicly accused the Nigerian government of failing to prevent attacks on Christians and instructed US agencies to prepare responses, including warnings of potential military action if the situation did not improve.

Nigerian officials quickly responded, rejecting claims of state-backed persecution and stressing the country’s constitutional guarantees for religious freedom.

US Ambassador Michael Waltz praised Minaj on social media, calling her "not only arguably the greatest female recording artist but also a principled individual who refuses to remain silent in the face of injustice."

He added that he looked forward to working alongside her as the US considered steps to protect persecuted Christians.

Minaj said she was grateful for the chance to speak and emphasised that she did not take the invitation lightly.

Gunmen launched an attack on a church in Nigeria, killing at least two people and abducting the pastor along with several worshippers, according to police and eyewitness accounts on Wednesday.

Tuesday evening’s assault in Eruku, a community in Kwara state in central Nigeria, has intensified pressure on the government as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to criticise Nigeria over what he describes as persecution of Christians.

President Bola Tinubu cancelled a scheduled visit to South Africa and Angola for the G20 and AU-EU summits so he could receive security updates on both incidents, his office announced.

Tinubu also instructed the security agencies “to do everything possible” to rescue the schoolgirls “abducted by the bandits and bring the girls back home safe,” spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said.

Speaking at the U.S. mission to the United Nations on Tuesday, rapper Nicki Minaj renewed calls for international action to protect religious freedom, stating that in Nigeria “Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed.”

Across the country, authorities continue to confront a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, widespread kidnappings and killings by armed gangs in the northwest, and violent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farmers in central Nigeria.

Police in Kwara reported that officers responding to gunfire around 6 p.m. on Tuesday found one victim shot inside the church and another in nearby bushes, according to state police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi.

Eyewitnesses told Reuters they counted at least three church members dead.

Parishioner Joseph Bitrus said by phone that “they later rounded up some worshippers, including the pastor, and took them into the bush,” though he did not specify how many were seized.

A video shared by a local media outlet and verified by Reuters shows the Christ Apostolic Church service abruptly disrupted by gunfire, with worshippers scrambling for safety as armed men enter and seize belongings.

Kwara’s governor has asked for an immediate increase in security deployments following the attack, his spokesperson confirmed.

Authorities in Kebbi state are still searching for the schoolgirls taken on Monday when armed men raided the predominantly Muslim Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School. Vice President Kashim Shettima is expected to travel there on Wednesday to meet families and local officials.

In another tragic development earlier this year, six Christians in central Nigeria’s Benue state were killed and eight kidnapped in suspected Fulani herdsmen attacks across three villages.

Adding to the carnage, the Akpanta killings in March 2025 saw armed herders torching churches Methodist, Anglican, and Catholic and homes in at least one village, forcing many Christians to flee.

The Nigerian government, however, maintains the narrative that these are not purely religious attacks. Information Minister Mohammed Idris has said that using religion to frame the violence is “misinformation or faulty data,” arguing that extremism affects both Christians and Muslims.

Nonetheless, analysts say the violence is deeply rooted in long-standing insecurity. Religious, ethnic, and resource-based tensions overlap especially in central Nigeria, where many of the farmers are Christian and the herders Muslim.