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.
At least 26 killed, despite increased Nigerian Army presence in S. Kaduna
UPDATE (22 Feb): Heavily-armed Fulani herdsmen carried out raids on communities in Kaduna State, central Nigeria, on 19 and 20 February, destroying homes and claiming at least 26 lives, including two policemen. According to CSW, hundreds of militiamen reportedly descended on Bakin Kogi in the Kaninkon Chiefdom of Jema’a Local Government […]
Hope for victims of the Nigerian conflict claiming more lives than Boko Haram
In the village of Goska, houses were destroyed, churches burnt and shops vandalised in a December attack.World Watch Monitor The two Nigerian villages are barely five minutes’ drive apart. In one, Goska, houses were destroyed, churches burnt, shops vandalised, carcasses of animals littered the streets and most of the […]
Kaduna deaths – Nigeria army complicit?
Does anyone hear? Does anyone care? The UK ‘Spectator’ reporter Douglas Murray is dismayed after visiting northern and Middle Belt Nigeria, where he found communities torn apart by a conflict that has been allowed alternately to simmer and rage, for years, without intervention. In the last couple of months the […]
Photographer tells stories of ‘Boko Haram girls’
A photographer given access to some of the most vulnerable victims of Boko Haram has produced a set of striking images to help tell their story. Chris de Bode, who specialises in covering humanitarian stories, visited Yola in north-eastern Nigeria for the Dutch Relief Alliance, a coalition of 14 Dutch […]
Nigerians displaced by Boko Haram fear going home
Aid workers in Borno State say thousands of Nigerians still live in fear of Boko Haram and have no intention of returning home, reports The Guardian. Nigeria’s government claims the insurgents are defeated, but the continued threat posed by Boko Haram was underlined on 16 January when twin suicide bombings […]
Christians in Nigeria’s Jigawa State cry out as authorities begin church demolition
Anxiety is high among Christian communities in Nigeria’s northern state of Jigawa after authorities began demolishing church buildings in Dutse, the state capital. On 11 January, bulldozers, escorted by security forces, reduced to rubble the Redeem Christian Church of God and the Lord Chosen Church. They arrived at the Redeem […]
Chibok girl freed 7mths ago not yet allowed home
Sunday (8 Jan.) marked 1,000 days since 276 schoolgirls were abducted from the government boarding school in Nigeria’s northern town of Chibok. So far, 195 remain in captivity. However, the few who’ve regained freedom, like Amina Ali Nkeki, have found themselves not completely free. Amina was the first to escape, […]
Church body calls for equal education in N Nigeria
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the north-eastern state of Yobe has appealed to the state government to introduce Christian religious studies in public schools. Despite the constitutional provision for freedom of worship, the teaching of Christian religious knowledge is prohibited by local authorities in Yobe and other northern […]
1,000 days: 24th Chibok girl to be freed leaves 195 of 276 still missing
Almost 1,000 days since she was kidnapped with 275 other schoolgirls from school dormitories in Chibok, northeast Nigeria, the 24th girl to be released from captivity has been found. Rakiya Abubakar Gali was discovered on 5 Jan. by the Army, who were questioning captured Boko Haram militants. She has a […]
UPDATE: Army recovers 24th Chibok kidnap victim
The released 21 Chibok girls met President Buhari – seen here with Vice President Osinbajo – at his villa in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, 19 Oct.The Office of the President Update 5 Jan. 2017: The Nigerian Army says it has discovered another woman who kidnapped nearly three years ago from […]