Tag: ECWA

Nigerian Christians refute claims herdsmen killings were retaliatory, as Plateau violence reaches new peak

June 28, 2018 Nigeria APC, Berom, Christian Association of Nigeria, Church of Christ in Nigeria, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Jos, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Plateau

In central Nigeria, clashes between predominantly Christian farmers and mainly Muslim Fulani herdsmen reached another peak in Plateau over the weekend, as suspected herdsmen went on a killing spree in a dozen villages, leaving scores dead. Early reports suggested that 86 people were killed, but local sources contacted by World . . . Read More

Nigerian Christian schoolgirl ‘escaped’, only to be sent back to Boko Haram

April 4, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Dapchi, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Kidnapping, Leah Sharibu, Nigeria, Religious freedom, Yobe

Leah Sharibu, 14, was abducted by Boko Haram on 19 February 2018. (Photo from family)

The only Christian among the 110 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted last month by Boko Haram ran away from her kidnappers but was caught and brought back three days later, according to fellow captives, reports the UK’s Guardian newspaper. Leah Sharibu, 14, and two other girls walked for three days and, hungry and exhausted, . . . Read More

Nigeria: 9 churches burnt down and Christian students attacked as violence continues

February 9, 2018 ECWA

In Nigeria, a new wave of attacks has seen dozens killed in Christian communities across the country. The violence has hit the north-eastern state of Adamawa, one of the most affected by Boko Haram, and also the Middle Belt states of Nasarawa and Benue, where Fulani herdsmen have caused havoc . . . Read More

Nigerian student arrested after converting from Islam to Christianity

January 16, 2018 Nigeria Converts, ECWA, Islamic extremism, Jama'atu Nasril Islam, Jos, Nasarawa, Nigeria, Plateau

A Nigerian university student who converted from Islam to Christianity has been arrested by state security forces, as has the man who introduced her to Christianity. Nabila Umar Sanda, 19, is a student at Bingham University in Karu, in the central state of Nasarawa, which is owned by one of . . . Read More

Fulani herdsmen ‘terrorists’ ‘pampered’ in Nigeria’s Middle Belt

January 15, 2018 Nigeria Adamawa, Benue, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Muhammadu Buhari, Nasarawa, Nigeria, Taraba

A spate of violence attributed to ethnic Fulani herdsmen in central Nigeria has seen dozens killed since the turn of year. In Benue State, violence has claimed 80 lives and forced 80,000 to flee. The funerals on 11 January for 73 of the victims in Makurdi, Benue’s capital, were broadcast . . . Read More

Nigeria: 9 dead as suspected Fulani herdsmen ambush Christians in Plateau

November 9, 2017 Nigeria Christian Association of Nigeria, Church of Christ in Nigeria, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Nigeria, Plateau

Nine Christians were shot dead by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria’s central Plateau State on Tuesday night (7 November), as they returned from a weekly village market. Four more were injured during the incident in the Riyom Local Government Area (LGA), which happened at around 7.30pm. Seven were killed instantly, . . . Read More

Nigeria: cattle-grazing ban seeks to end Fulani violence

November 2, 2017 Nigeria Benue, ECWA, Middle Belt, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Plateau

A law imposing a ban on cattle grazing has come into force today (2 November) in Nigeria’s central state of Benue. The ban follows years of deadly clashes between nomadic Fulani herdsman and local farmers in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. According to the BBC, the new law requires everyone to keep . . . Read More

Nigerian government has failed to counteract violence of Fulani herdsmen – ICG report

September 21, 2017 Nigeria Agatu, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Kaduna, Kafanchan, Middle Belt, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

In Nigeria, it isn’t only the northeast regions, stronghold of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, that have witnessed severe violence. The Middle Belt of the country, which straddles the divide between the largely Muslim north and the majority-Christian south, is also the scene of ever-continuing violence between settled farmers, . . . Read More

Nigerian government ‘complicit’ in ‘stealth jihad’, say Christian leaders

September 13, 2017 Nigeria Boko Haram, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

A group representing senior Christians in Nigeria has accused the government of trying to Islamise the country. In a statement on 6 September, ‘Jihad in Nigeria: burying the head in sand’, the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) said jihad threatened the unity of the country. NCEF is composed of a number . . . Read More

Nigeria: when Fulani herdsmen and farmers clash

September 11, 2017 Nigeria Benue, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Kaduna, Middle Belt, Nasarawa, Nigeria

Fulani cattle herds in Bauchi State, northern Nigeria, July 2016 (Open Doors International)

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 . . . Read More

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