ABUJA, Nigeria – Germany’s Federal Government Commissioner for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Thomas Rachel, concluded a fact-finding tour of displaced communities in Benue State and reaffirmed advisory military support for Nigeria during a press briefing on Tuesday, April 28, 2026.
Okay News reports that Rachel addressed the media after inspecting internally displaced persons camps and meeting with survivors of a June 13, 2025, attack in the Yelwata community that left over 200 residents dead and displaced approximately 3,000 individuals.
“I am still moved by my visit to Yelwata, the village where a massacre took place in June 2025. More than 200 Christians were killed there,” Rachel said. “The people with whom I spoke, they asked for safety. They asked what the government can do. They asked for support for living, and they want to have a chance to return from IDPs, from internally displaced persons, to their ancestral homes.”
The commissioner identified terrorism in the north from Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), alongside farmer-herder conflicts in the Middle Belt, as the primary drivers of violence. He stated that human rights issues are also present within regional legal frameworks. “We heard about the concerns of quite a lot of people about the partial application of blasphemy laws in certain northern states, which leads to severe violations of human rights, as well as the freedom of religion and belief,” he said.
During the briefing, Rachel confirmed that the German government will not deploy its military for combat operations within the country. He stated that advisory and training assistance will continue through the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. “We have some people from our so-called Bundeswehr who recommend and train the military of Nigeria. We will not act in any military way in Nigeria. Nigeria is a strong country,” he said.
