Arise Africa Petition Today: 919,600 Signatures to Protect Persecuted Christians

Pastor Barnabas preaches from a displacement camp. The Nigerian church leader survived an attack on his community, lost the home he had, and now tells Open Doors that displaced Christians like him feel "ignored" and "forgotten".

His voice is the human centre of a campaign that is now counting down its final days. The Arise Africa petition, run by Open Doors UK and Ireland, seeks 1 million signatures calling for protection, justice and restoration for Christians facing violence in sub-Saharan Africa.

More than 919,600 signatures had been secured as of 28 October 2026, according to WiseVoter's reporting on 28 October. The finish line is close, and the deadline for the final push is 2 November 2026, according to Open Doors Canada material. The count was reported on 28 October, with days still left before the deadline.

Arise Africa Petition Today: 919,600 Signatures Toward 1 Million Before 2 November Deadline

The petition is to be presented to the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union and national governments. Its asks are protection, justice and restoration, three words that carry the weight of what Pastor Barnabas and others have lived through.

This is not a new launch. The campaign launched in 2023 with a multi-year goal, and the fresh hook is the final-days signature count and the 2 November deadline, not a beginning. Readers who see it described as new should know the longer history behind the count.

That honesty matters for readers deciding whether to sign. The campaign has been building for years, and it is now in its closing stretch, with the gap to one million under 80,400 signatures on the reported figure of more than 919,600.

12 Christians Killed Every Day: World Watch List Figures Behind the Petition

Open Doors says an average of 12 Christians are killed for their faith each day in sub-Saharan Africa, as reported by Bible Blender and SAVED News. The number is an average, and behind it are individual attacks, funerals and empty chairs.

In the period measured for the 2026 World Watch List, 4,849 Christians were killed for their faith, including 3,490 in Nigeria, according to Bible Blender's reporting of Open Doors figures. Seventeen of the 50 worst-persecution countries are in Africa, five of them in the top ten.

Open Doors also reports 16.2 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa have been displaced by violence and conflict. Pastor Barnabas is one of them, and his words about feeling forgotten give the displacement figure a face.

Tiffany Barrans is executive director of Open Doors UK and Ireland, the organisation running the petition. Her organisation is the one asking readers to stand with Christians like Pastor Barnabas, whose experience the petition puts before governments and international bodies.

The Nigeria toll behind the petition is set out in 3,490 Christians Murdered in Nigeria Alone: 2026 World Watch List Exposes Crisis and in Christians Killed in Nigeria Today: Pastor Buries Four Congregants After Midnight Attack (2026).

More recent attacks are covered in Pastor Killed and Dozens Kidnapped in Ekiti Church Attack Latest News, and the wider persecution picture is reported in Christian Persecution Report Today: Conditions Worsened in 55% of Countries, None Improved.

What Happens After the Arise Africa Petition Reaches 1 Million Signatures

Presentation to governments and international bodies is the next step named in the campaign material. Whether presentation turns into protection is the question no signature count can answer on its own. No outcome is promised in the campaign material, and the petition itself is a request, not a guarantee.

Will the final days before 2 November carry the petition past 1 million, and will the leaders who recieve it hear Pastor Barnabas above the numbers, or will another year pass with displaced Christians still feeling forgotten?

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.