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Pope Francis met Wednesday with two young Nigerian girls who suffered horrendous violence at the hands of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
“Oh, what sorrow to have watched three of my parishioners shot dead in cold blood, right before my eyes — and I couldn’t do anything,” Nigerian parish priest Father Bako Francis Awesuh, 37, shared in a new Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) report published Friday.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the UK-based human rights foundation, is calling for the release of Leah Sharibu who has been in captivity since 2018 saying the half-a-decade period she has spent with her kidnappers is “far too long”.
Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke said Nigerian society as a whole has “a traditional worldview” that recognizes the presence of God in life and society.
A U.S. State Department official told EWTN that “after careful review” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has decided not to put Nigeria back on the list.
Pope Francis invited Christians on Wednesday to pray for the grace to have a “pastoral heart” like Jesus that “suffers and takes risks” out of love for others.
Rhoda Jatau, a Christian and mother of five, was charged with blasphemy in a Nigerian court yesterday for forwarding a video defending a lynched Christian student.
A Nigerian musician is taking a case to the country’s Supreme Court challenging a death sentence he was given in 2020 for “blasphemy,” a case his lawyers hope will overturn the harsh blasphemy laws that have plagued the country’s Christians and other religious minorities for years.
The U.S. Department of State says it is “deeply troubled” by recent allegations of a forced abortion program on more than 10,000 Nigerian women and has communicated its concerns to the Nigerian government, The Christian Post reported Dec. 15.
As President Joe Biden welcomes leaders from over 40 African nations this week, religious freedom advocates are calling for the U.S. government to recognize the rising persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
For the second year in a row Nigeria has been left off of the U.S. State Department’s list of countries that engage in or tolerate the world’s worst religious freedom violations, despite regular reports of kidnappings and killings of Christians, sparking outcry from members of a bipartisan government watchdog group.
According to a report published by Reuters today, a massive forced abortion program has been carried out by the Nigerian military on at least 10,000 women since 2013. In addition to exposing the Nigerian government’s forced abortion campaign, Reuters’ findings further evidence the use of rape as a weapon of war carried out by Islamist insurgents on Nigerian civilians.
November proved to be an especially deadly month in Central Nigeria, leaving Catholics like Matthew Onah and his family struggling to cope with their losses.
Details are still emerging after a violent raid by Fulani herdsmen Oct. 19 in Benue State, Central Nigeria, reportedly left dozens of Catholic villagers killed.
The Archbishop of Nigeria’s Abuja Archdiocese has called on “political and traditional” leaders in the West African nation to find inspiration in the prayer attitude of Old Testament rulers and pray for the Nigerians under their care.
Armed men kidnapped more than 80 Christians last week in attacks on two separate churches in north-central and northwest Nigeria, reported Morning Star News.
Father Stephen Ojapah had fallen fast asleep late on May 25 after an exhausting day of parish work when two men with rifles ordered him to get out of bed and follow them.
Luka Binniyat, a Catholic human rights reporter, is facing prison after writing an article in which the Nigerian government was criticized for its inaction in the face of an ongoing threat to Christian communities.
From May 1 to June 30, 70 unarmed persons across Benue State in north-central Nigeria were killed in attacks by Fulani herdsmen, a Catholic bishop says.
Forty-one people were killed by gunmen who opened fire during a Pentecost Sunday Mass.