Nigeria: Violence continues but government in denial, church leaders say

A village in northern Nigeria after an attack by Fulani militants. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
A pregnant woman and a child were among four people killed in attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria’s Plateau State last week. The attackers targeted the villages of Ancha and Tafigana in the Bassa Local Government area, as reported by news site Nasoweseeamonline. Margaret Wakili, 27, from Ancha – . . . Read More

Nigeria elections: Whomever wins, Christians hope for justice and security

Burned church in a village in Nigeria's southern Kaduna after an attack by suspected Fulani gunmen. Violence attributed to militant herdsmen in Nigeria reached a record high last year. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
As Nigerians are preparing to go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new president, Boko Haram has been stepping up attacks in the northeast of the country, making it difficult if not impossible for people to vote. On Tuesday, 12 February, the Islamist militants attacked Madagali town, Gulak, Magar . . . Read More

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

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

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

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

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

Nigerian student recalls the night 10 family members were killed in front of her

Blessing
When 23-year-old student Blessing Kogi returned home on Thursday 27 September, she was full of joy, expecting to spend a restful evening with her family in their quiet, residential neighbourhood of Rukuba Road, in the south-western outskirts of Jos, the capital of Nigeria’s Plateau state. Twelve members of her family . . . Read More

Nigeria: Pastor and three sons burned alive among at least 20 killed in latest Plateau massacre

Nigeria: Pastor and three sons burned alive among at least 20 killed in latest Plateau massacre
A spate of attacks, in which at least 20 were killed in Nigeria’s central Plateau State over the last week of August, has shattered peace efforts by religious and political leaders in its capital, Jos. Three months ago, heavily armed Fulani militants stormed 15 villages across the same Barkin Ladi . . . Read More

Nigerian church leaders, families continue to die; US top diplomat blames ‘climate of impunity’

Nigerian church leaders, families continue to die; US top diplomat blames ‘climate of impunity’
The acting US ambassador to Nigeria has reiterated the call of his government to the Nigerian authorities to stop ongoing killings in the Middle Belt and northeast of the country. Violence attributed to militant Fulani herdsmen reached a record high this year, with more than 1,800 deaths from January to . . . Read More

What is behind the Fulani herdsmen-farmers conflict?

What is behind the Fulani herdsmen-farmers conflict?
The ongoing deadly clashes between the nomadic, mainly Muslim Fulani herdsmen and the predominantly Christian farming communities of Nigeria’s Middle Belt are often referred to in the mainstream media as “farmer-herder clashes”: the Middle Belt is a farming region, and the advancing Fulani-owned herds have increasingly encroached on croplands. However, . . . Read More