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.

Sort By date
Filter by Tag
Category

Fears of ‘another Chibok’ after Boko Haram school attack

Some of the 21 girls who were released in October 2016. (Photo:  Open Doors International)

Fears are growing that the girls still missing after Boko Haram attacked a boarding school in Nigeria’s north-eastern state of Yobe on Monday night (19 February) have been taken by the militant group. The attack comes almost four years after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, […]

Read More

Nigerian bishops accuse government of failing to protect citizens from ‘terrorist’ herdsmen

Nigerian bishops accuse government of failing to protect citizens from ‘terrorist’ herdsmen

Nigeria’s Catholic bishops have told President Muhammadu Buhari that attacks attributed to members of the Fulani pastoralist tribe have been carried out by “terrorists masquerading as herdsmen” and accused the government of being “incapable or unwilling” to protect citizens from them. A delegation of 11 bishops delivered a strongly worded […]

Read More

Nigerian Air Force complicit in massacre of Christian villagers, says Amnesty

Nigerian Air Force complicit in massacre of Christian villagers, says Amnesty

Fighter jets sent by the Nigerian Air Force fired rockets at villages where Fulani herdsmen were attacking Christian residents, according to a report released this week by Amnesty International. The Nigerian Air Force confirmed that jets were despatched, but said they were instructed to fire only “warning shots” to deter […]

Read More

New IS branch discovered in Nigeria, as UK archbishop calls for end to violence

A village head inside his destroyed home in one of the villages in Southern Kaduna that were attacked by Fulani herdsmen, in May 2017. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has called for an end to the ongoing violence in Nigeria. His statement comes as a new terrorist network has been discovered in the country – IS in West Africa (ISWA) – which recruits foreigners to act as Fulani herdsmen and attack local communities. […]

Read More