Niger: pastor’s daughter kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram militants

Street scene in Zinder, Niger's second biggest town, where thousands of people fled to after Boko Haram first attacked Diffa in February 2015. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
The teenage daughter of a pastor was kidnapped on 16 October in Diffa, south-eastern Niger, in what appears to be the first targeted kidnapping of a Christian by Boko Haram-affiliated militants in the West African nation. Aphodiya Garba Maida, 17, daughter of a pastor with the EERN (Église Évangélique de . . . Read More

Thousands of Nigerian refugees forced back home to looming famine

Thousands of Nigerian refugees forced back home to looming famine
Thousands of Nigerians who fled Boko Haram’s insurgency, and sought refuge in neighbouring Cameroon, have been forced back home, the UN said on 29 June, as Reuters reports. According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), some 887 Nigerians, most of them children, were repatriated against their will on 27 June alone. The . . . Read More

Lake Chad Basin crisis to dominate African Union Summit

Lake Chad Basin crisis to dominate African Union Summit
As the 29th African Union (AU) Summit begins today (27 June), one of the major talking points will be the “now-major conflict zone” of the Lake Chad Basin, writes Omar S Mahmood, analyst at The Institute for Security Studies. The UN has described the situation in north-eastern Nigeria – one . . . Read More

African mission leader searches for positives despite deadly surge of jihadist violence

African mission leader searches for positives despite deadly surge of jihadist violence
Attacks attributed to radical Islamic groups are happening on a weekly, or even daily, basis in Africa, posing security concerns across a vast swathe of the continent. The phenomenon has dramatically affected Church activities in various regions. But Rev. Reuben E. Ezemadu, Coordinator of the Movement for African National Initiatives . . . Read More

75,000 children in N. Nigeria risk ‘dying of hunger’; 14 million need humanitarian aid, says UN

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 . . . Read More

UPDATE: Nigeria: suspects in blasphemy case released

UPDATE: Nigeria: suspects in blasphemy case released
Christian Center in Abuja, Nigeria, Feb. 2016 (World Watch Monitor) A court in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano has freed five people detained in relation with the killing of a pastor’s wife who had been accused of blasphemy. Bridget Agbahime, 74, wife of Mike Agbahime, pastor of Deeper Life Bible . . . Read More

‘We are in a catastrophe’

‘We are in a catastrophe’
Leaders of Africa’s Lake Chad Basin countries affected by Boko Haram’s intensifying insurgency over the past two weeks are calling on the international community to act urgently against the region’s ongoing humanitarian “catastrophe”. Presidents Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria), Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger), Idriss Deby Itno (Chad) and Paul Biya (Cameroon) are scheduled . . . Read More