Tag: Nigeria

US Ambassador tells Nigerians: “Citizens are the government”

February 11, 2019 Nigeria Elections, Nigeria

The Archbishop of Jos, Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, speaks while (from left to right) Secretary General of Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, US Ambassador Stuart Symington and Rev. Gideon Para-Mallam listen. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

As Nigerians prepare for elections this week, the US Ambassador encouraged religious leaders to “inspire non-violence through their actions”, reports the Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust. Stuart Symington told Christian and Muslim leaders at a roundtable event in the central Nigerian city of Jos last week (6 February) that “it’s about . . . Read More

From China to sub-Saharan Africa, Christians experience high levels of persecution in 73 countries

January 16, 2019 Global News -- No Particular Country Buddhist nationalism, China, Colombia, Copts, Egypt, Hindu nationalism, India, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Libya, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, Vietnam, World Watch List

In its latest annual survey of 150 countries monitoring how difficult it is to live as a Christian, out today, the overall trend in the 2019 World Watch List is that almost half (73) showed extreme, very high or high levels of persecution. A year earlier, it was 58 countries. . . . Read More

Key trends show in 2019 List of countries where it’s most difficult to live as a Christian

January 16, 2019 Global News -- No Particular Country BJP, Blasphemy, Boko Haram, China, Egypt, Hindu nationalism, India, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Middle East, Minorities, Nigeria, Religious freedom, World Watch List

WWL 2019 key trends, gender, China, woman (photo: VPA)

In its 2019 World Watch List, Open Doors International reports that 11 countries score highly enough to fit into the ‘extreme’ category for the level of persecution of Christians. It was the same last year, but five years ago, only North Korea was in that category. From roughly 2006, and accelerating from 2012, the NGO says the . . . Read More

Nigeria’s herder-farmer conflict escalates due to government inaction – Amnesty International

December 18, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, Middle Belt, Nigeria, Plateau

Since 2017 conflicts between Nigeria's herders and farmers have become increasingly violent and deadly, says Amnesty. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Almost 4,000 people have been killed and thousands displaced in fighting between herders and farmers in Nigeria’s middle belt in the past three years, Amnesty International says in a new report. Amnesty, who started documenting clashes in January 2016, said yesterday (17 December) violence was increasing with more than half . . . Read More

UK parliamentary group calls out 27 countries for ‘significant’ religious freedom violations

December 10, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Ahmed Shaheed, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Egypt, Eritrea, Human rights, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tariq Ahmad, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UK, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

A church in Bartella, a town near the Iraqi city of Mosul, after Islamic State militants left the area in October 2016. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A “Commentary on the Current State of Freedom of Religion or Belief” presented by a group of British parliamentarians today, 10 December, highlights 27 countries where people’s religious freedom has been denied and abused in the past year. The report, presented by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International . . . Read More

West ‘failing to convert words of concern into action’ against ultra-nationalism

November 23, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Buddhist nationalism, Hindu nationalism, Islamic extremism, Kyrgyzstan, Minorities, Nigeria, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Shia, Sunni

“Ultra-nationalism” promoted by governments and non-state bodies has triggered a rise in hatred against minorities, according to a new report by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Countries where such hatred is on the rise include “key parts of the world” such as China, India, Pakistan and . . . Read More

Prince Charles bypassing Jos ‘robbed Nigeria’s Christians of opportunity to create awareness about our travails’

November 9, 2018 Nigeria Fulani herdsmen, Jos, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Plateau, Prince Charles

Christians in Nigeria’s central state of Plateau are upset about the Federal Government of Nigeria advising Prince Charles to bypass Jos, the capital of Plateau, during his visit to the country as part of a tour of West Africa. Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, arrived in Abuja, the capital, . . . Read More

UK government commits £12 million to championing religious freedom

November 9, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Alexandria, Bishop Angaelos, Copts, Easter, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palm Sunday, Plateau, Religious freedom, UK

More than 20 people lost their lives in the Palm Sunday attack on the St George Cathedral in Tanta, Egypt.

The UK government has committed £12 million ($15.5 million) to championing freedom of religion of belief worldwide. The UK’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Lord Tariq Ahmad, said the money “will go a long way in bolstering the work of civil society and NGOs to promote respect, . . . Read More

Chibok girls last seen in northern Cameroon

October 29, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Cameroon, Chibok girls, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

Pictures of 82 girls freed in 2017; 112 are still un-accounted for

A Nigerian woman who was kept in captivity by Boko Haram with some of the Chibok schoolgirls has escaped and brought news of the girls to their parents, Reuters reported earlier this month. Jumai, 35, from a town near Chibok, was captured with her six children in April 2014 – around . . . Read More

Nigeria: Stop ‘rumour mongering’ that led to Kaduna violence, says church leader

October 23, 2018 Nigeria Fulani herdsmen, Kaduna, Middle Belt, Nigeria

A vigilante walks through the village of Bakin Kogi, in Kaduna state, northwest Nigeria, where four people were killed in an attack by suspected Fulani herdsmen in February 2018. (Photo: Getty Images)

A senior church leader in Nigeria has said that “rumour mongering” was at the heart of last week’s violence in north-western Kaduna state, which killed 55 people, reports Nigeria’s Daily Post. Following the violence a curfew was imposed. The Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, Rev. Mathew Ndagoso, urged citizens to refrain . . . Read More

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