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.
45 killed in yet another attack on Christian communities in Kaduna
A spate of attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria last weekend left 45 dead and several more injured. The attacks took place in five villages in the Kauru Local Government Area, in the Middle Belt state of Kaduna – an area mostly populated by Christians, on Sunday 13 November. Most […]
75,000 children in N. Nigeria risk ‘dying of hunger’; 14 million need humanitarian aid, says UN
The UN says 75,000 children are at risk of dying of hunger in north-east Nigeria.Open Doors International Seventy-five thousand children are at risk of dying of hunger in north-east Nigeria, reports the UN, as the region deals with the aftermath of Boko Haram violence. The UN also says that […]
UPDATE: Another Chibok schoolgirl escapes with baby
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 A Nigerian Government spokesman, Sani Usman, told media another girl, believed to be one of the nearly 300 Chibok school […]
One pastor among NE Nigeria blast victims
A Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) pastor was among seven persons killed in two assumed Boko Haram suicide bombings in Maiduguri on 29 Oct. No further details on the pastor were yet available, but BBC reports that a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside the Bakassi IDP camp, […]
Nigerian Middle Belt state: 800+ Christians killed, 800+ injured, 100+ churches destroyed
Nigeria’s Middle Belt is the scene of ever-continuing attacks on Christian farmers by mainly Muslim Hausa-Fulani herdsmen, including this past week where attacks have occurred in both Kaduna and Benue states. Now a recent report about another state in the Middle Belt, Nasarawa, shows that it too has been the scene […]
Nigerian Fulani herdsmen’s attacks continue amidst government inaction
In Waku, Benue State, one of the numerous villages in Nigeria’s ‘Middle Belt’ displaced by Hausa-Fulani Muslim herdsmen, on 18 August a small frightened calf was tied to a stake by a group of Christian villagers. The angry mob was waiting for the arrival of its owners, herdsmen who’d destroyed […]
Women in Boko Haram fighting, not just cooking
Female members of the radical Islamic group Boko Haram are almost as likely as men to be deployed as fighters in northeast Nigeria, challenging a widespread perception that these women are mainly used as cooks, sex slaves and suicide bombers, shows a new study published on 3 Oct. While men […]
Nigeria: Kidnapped priest freed
A Catholic priest kidnapped on Monday (26 Sep.) by Fulani herdsmen in south-eastern Nigeria was released yesterday (29 Sep). Fr. Emmanuel Dim was travelling with two other priests when they were attacked by some heavily armed men on Monday evening. “We thank God for the release of Rev. Fr. Emmanuel […]
Talks to free Chibok girls failed three times
The Nigerian government has, for the first time, disclosed its failure to secure the release of girls kidnapped by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram from the northern town of Chibok in April 2014. On 16 September, Nigeria said that negotiations have gone on since July 2015, shortly after President […]
Hurricane of violence has left landscape of blood
Nigerian Catholic bishops, deploring have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to restore confidence amidst growing public frustration with his government. President Buhari was elected in Feb. 2015 on a platform of change and reform, but the clerics say “most Nigerians are today disillusioned by the frittering away of the high […]