Analysis of the Impact of Catholic Newspapers on Social Cohesion of Persecuted Christians in North Central Nigeria, 2020–2025

North Central Nigeria popularly described as Middle Belt, over the recent years has experienced escalating religious crisis and violence, which has affected the Christian communities. Attacks have come from bandits, armed militia, Fulani herdsmen and Islamic extremists (Open Doors, 2025; ACN, 2025). Research has shown that Nigeria has recorded over 3,100 Christians killed and 2,830 Christians kidnapped in 2024 alone (Open Doors, 2025). The various attacks on Christian communities have not only destroyed church buildings and other structures of worship, but they have also scattered many Christian groups, turning survivors into internally displaced persons (Intersociety, 2023). This leads to the fragmentation of social structures of the communities. Gindiri (2023) affirms that persecution leads to elevated and insidious type of displacement leaving the community scattered and desolated. Scholars like Craig and Nurmalanga, (2006); Entman, (1994) affirm that “the way and manner in which the media report religious crisis or persecution affects the prolongation or early resolution of such conflicts.