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.
‘Why have killers of Christians been set free?’ – Christian Association of Nigeria
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene after five Christian youths were sentenced to death in the north-eastern state of Adamawa, warning of a “miscarriage of justice” and bemoaning a lack of consistency in bringing killers to justice. On 11 June, a judge […]
‘Please wish her happy birthday’ – missing Chibok girl’s mother
For the 20th birthday of one of the missing Chibok girls, her mother has sent a plea: “Please wish her a happy birthday and remember her in your prayers,” CNN reports. The mother of Dorcas Yakubu – kidnapped by Boko Haram from a boarding school in Nigeria’s north-western town of […]
‘Fulani herdsmen attacks have caused $1 billion damage in just one Nigerian state’
Attacks attributed to Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria’s central state of Benue have caused damage to properties worth the equivalent of over one billion US dollars (400 billion nairas), says the state governor. Samuel Ortom told a local radio station the estimate was based on preliminary findings into attacks in the […]
Nigerian pastor says security services threatened to kill him after Muslim woman’s conversion to Christianity
The Nigerian pastor who played a central role in the conversion of a young Muslim woman to Christianity has denounced the response of the country’s security services, from which he alleges he has received death threats. The first response of the Nigerian Department of State Security Services (DSS), in January, […]
Nigeria: 7 more killed by suspected herdsmen in what Benue governor calls a ‘jihad’
A fresh attack attributed to Fulani herdsmen has left seven killed in Tseadough village, in the Kwande local government area of Benue state, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. The assailants stormed the village in the early hours of Sunday 3 June, while people were asleep, the Chairman of Kwande Local Government […]
Nigeria: Seminary attacked, priest shot for ‘asking herdsmen to stop invading our school’
Armed men, believed to be Fulani herdsmen, yesterday (28 May) attacked a Catholic boys’ secondary boarding school in Jalingo, capital of the Nigerian central state of Taraba. A priest was shot in the leg, while valuables worth thousands of dollars were destroyed, ‘This Day Live’ reported. The priest, named as […]
Fulani violence against Nigeria Christians hits record high
Violence attributed to militant Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria has reached a record high this year. The Governor of the central state of Benue said this week that 492 people have been killed in his state alone so far this year. Governor Samuel Ortom was speaking 22 May at the mass […]
Amnesty accuses Nigerian army of raping women and girls who fled Boko Haram
Women and girls detained by Boko Haram have then been raped by their military ‘rescuers’ reports Amnesty International in a report that has taken two years and 250 interviews. Nigerian troops sometimes separated women from their husbands and raped them, sometimes in exchange for food, in refugee camps, the rights […]
Nigeria: 10 killed in Kogi state as herdsmen attacks move south
At least ten people were killed as suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked Christian communities in Kogi state on Monday, 14 May. Nigeria has been plagued by violence attributed to the herdsmen, particularly in the Middle Belt and northeast. But now the violence is also affecting the predominantly Christian south states, with […]
Nigeria: Leah Sharibu’s 15th birthday passes in captivity
The single remaining Nigerian teenager still being held captive by Boko Haram following a raid on her school in February had her 15th birthday yesterday (14 May) in captivity, reported Nigeria’s Premium Times. Leah Sharibu was the only Christian taken when the militant Islamist group abducted 110 girls during a […]