The Nigerian army has had some success subduing Islamist group Boko Haram, but Christians are still being killed in Nigeria. Many of the killings are carried out by nomadic Hausa-Fulani herdsmen, a largely Muslim ethnic group that frequently targets the more settled Christian farming communities of central Nigeria. Meanwhile, 12 of Nigeria’s northern states employ Sharia (Islamic law), and Christians in these states face discrimination and restrictions in accessing community resources, such as clean water, health clinics, and higher education.
Nigeria: when Fulani herdsmen and farmers clash
Many experts on Nigeria now believe that violence across the Middle Belt, which World Watch Monitor has reported at length, has been responsible for more deaths than Boko Haram. As Emmanuel Akinwotu wrote last year in the New Statesman, the conflict – between ‘indigenous’ settled farmers (mainly Christian) and nomadic […]
5 Things to know about violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt
In northern Nigeria, targeted violence against Christians comes not only from the Islamic militants of Boko Haram. Clashes with militants among the predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen have claimed thousands of Christian lives in Nigeria’s Middle Belt – the handful of states straddling the pre-colonial line dividing Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north from […]
Fulani’s family had him jailed on false charges – because he’s a Christian
Belonging to the ethnic Fulani tribe means you are almost certainly Muslim. When Bulus*, a Nigerian living in northern Bauchi State, decided he wanted to become a Christian, he was not only ostracised by his family – they also made sure he ended up in prison on false charges. Bulus’ […]
‘There will never be peace for Nigeria’s Middle Belt unless there’s equality and justice’
Obscured by Boko Haram’s headlines, violence has also raged further south, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt: a less reported, years-long campaign which experts now believe has been responsible for more deaths than Boko Haram. Militants among the ethnic Fulani, a predominantly Muslim and nomadic population of cattle herders, are suspected of targeting […]
Boko Haram defector calls others to repent and leave
A Boko Haram defector has called on his former fellow fighters to repent and leave the Islamist group. Bana Umar, from Nigeria’s north-eastern town of Banki, was 27 when he joined Boko Haram in 2014, the same year the group kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls from their dormitory in the town […]
‘Prostitution is rife’ – sexual exploitation of Boko Haram survivors in IDP camps
Thousands of Christians in north-east Nigeria displaced by Boko Haram’s insurgency now face discrimination and harsh treatment – including sexual exploitation – by government officials, reports Global Christian News (GCN). While many thousands have been killed, others sought refuge in neighbouring Cameroon or in the relatively safe states in the […]
Kano, Nigeria: father and son killed, three women and a baby kidnapped
A father and son were killed, and three women and a baby abducted, in an attack in Nigeria’s northern state of Kano, in the largely Muslim area of Tudun Wada. At around 8pm on 15 August, armed men, believed to be local Muslims, attacked the house of Baba Kale Dankali, […]
‘I identify with Chibok parents, I too am a victim, I lost my son’ – UN award winner Rebecca Dali
Rebecca Dali’s son Timothy, 18, left the house one evening, telling her he was going to visit his friend. “Are you sure?” she asked. It was immediately after the 2011 Nigerian elections, when inter-religious tensions were high. His friend lived across town, in an area where Timothy might be at […]
Nigeria: outrage at Chibok kidnappings ‘inspired’ Boko Haram to use female bombers
As another attack by female suicide bombers in Nigeria leaves 27 dead, a new report claims that Boko Haram only started using women and girls in bomb attacks in response to the global outrage triggered by the 2014 Chibok schoolgirl abductions. The Exploding stereotypes report, by the Combating Terrorism Center […]
Displaced by Boko Haram’s violence, Nigerians finally get food to prevent famine
The current crisis in northeast Nigeria has been called the “greatest crisis on the African continent“. More than five million Nigerians live in famine-like conditions in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, the epicentre of the eight years-long Boko Haram insurgency. According to the World Food Programme, the ongoing insecurity has […]