UK-Based Rights Organization Joins Call for Intervention in Attacks against Faith Communities in Nigeria

“We call on the international community to assist Nigeria wherever possible in tracing and holding funders, facilitators, and perpetrators of terror- and religion-related violence to account,” he said.

GCFRN members in and outside Nigeria have  submitted an open letter to the Nigerian government, decrying the continuous deterioration of the situation in Nigeria.  

The letter dated  November 2  stresses the “urgent” need for the Nigerian government to address violations and abuses of the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB).

In the letter, the GCFRN criticizes allegations that Christians are not being persecuted in Nigeria, and provides evidence of historic and ongoing persecution.

The GCFRN coalition also recommends the banning of blasphemy laws in states where they are strictly adhered to in Nigeria.

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Missionary Congregation Joins Call for Prayers for 265 Children still Held after Nigerian School Abductions

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Nigeria has been battling with a surge of violence orchestrated by gangs, whose members carry out indiscriminate attacks, kidnapping for ransom, and in some cases, killing.

Boko Haram insurgency has been a major challenge in the country since 2009. The group allegedly aims to turn Africa's most populous nation into an Islamic nation.

The insecurity situation in many other parts of the country has further been complicated by the involvement of the predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen, also referred to as the Fulani Militia.

On November 21, a mass kidnapping was reported at St. Mary’s Catholic Nursery, Primary, and Secondary Schools of the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora.

The Diocese informed ACI Africa in a statement that armed attackers invaded St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger State, in the early hours of November 21, abducting “some pupils, students, teachers, and a security personnel who was badly shot.”

In another incident on November 17, Fr. Bobbo Paschal was abducted from his residence when gunmen attacked St. Stephen Parish of Kaduna Catholic Archdiocese. During the attack, numerous people were kidnapped, and Fr. Anthony Yero’s brother was killed.

On the same November 17, there were reports of the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State.

In an interview with ACI Africa, Bishop Bulus of Kontagora raised concern about the safety of children in Nigeria.

Bishop Bulus described the abduction as part of an escalating wave of violence sweeping across Kebbi and parts of Niger State.

“It has never been this bad. People sleep in the bush because they have nowhere else to run,” he said.

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There has been a series of other attacks targeting christians in the West African country. In July, three minor Seminarians were abducted during an armed attack on Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Auchi. All three endured months of torture despite pleas with abductors and the paying of ransoms.

Two of the Seminarians later regained their freedom, while the third died in captivity.

The U.S President, Donald Trump, recently designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), a move that the Vice-Chancellor of Veritas University, Abuja, has said accords national leaders of the West African nation an opportunity for international collaboration rather than an act of hostility.

Sabrine Amboka is a Kenyan journalist with a passion for Catholic church communication. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from St. Paul's University in Kenya.