NIGERIA: Militants force thousands to flee
27 Jun 2013Refugees say Islamic extremists threatening a bloodbath are forcing thousands of people from villages in northern Nigeria where the fighters have regrouped following a month-long military crackdown. People who escaped through the bush to the Borno state capital of Maiduguri say the Boko Haram terrorist network have also written letters warning government workers to resign their jobs or face death. Some villagers fled to neighbouring Cameroon. In a separate operation in Kano state police say they have rounded up 400 migrants and are deporting those who do not have the necessary documents. A state of emergency and military and police crackdown since May 14 have failed to crush the extremists blamed for the killings of more than 1,600 people since 2010. Meanwhile Amnesty International received credible reports that the authorities in the State of Edo in southern Nigeria have hanged four men in Benin City Prison on 24th June – the first known executions in the country since 2006. See also http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18587
Pray: for the Government of Nigeria to know God’s way forward and for God to empower them with His wisdom in all decisions at this time. (Is.30:21
More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/militants-in-north-nigeria-force-thousands-to-flee_856991.html
NIGERIA: Kano bus station bomb kills 22+
29 Apr 2013A bus station primarily used by Christian passengers heading south was bombed killing at least 22 and injuring 65. Several buses were destroyed. Kano is the largest city in the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria. One of the buses targeted was full when the explosion happened, and was completely destroyed. Security in the city has been substantially tightened with the area of the explosion almost completely sealed off. In January 150 died in Kano in a series of co-ordinated attacks by Boko Haram. The group is fighting to overthrow the Nigeria government and create an Islamic state in the North. It is also believed to have a presence in Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer. It is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.
Pray: for the families and communities affected by the killings pray also for the federal government to overcome those who do not mean well for Nigeria. (2Th.3:2-3)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21845402
Nigeria: Journalists are latest victims
18 May 2010
Plateau State has been racked with violence since January 18, when 200 Muslim youths attacked church-goers in the Nassarawa Gwong area of Jos. Two journalists working for a Church of Christ in Nigeria have become the latest casualties. Their bodies were found in the mortuary of the Jos University Teaching Hospital on the 25 April, a day after they left their office to interview a local politician. Church leaders continue to advocate non-retaliation and Rev Dr Pandat Yamsat has appealed to church members to remain calm despite the security lapses, and to cry out to God and allow Him to take vengeance. Christian Solidarity Worldwide called on local authorities to make every effort to track down the perpetrators of acts of violence adding, ‘a comprehensive review must be undertaken as a matter of urgency. This is a vital prerequisite for the restoration of peace to the area.’
Pray: for God’s Spirit powerfully to protect the minds of all living in the Jos area. (Pr.14:33)
Nigeria: Jos hit by new wave of attacks
08 Sep 2011At least 16 people have been killed in the latest violence between rival groups in central Nigeria's Plateau state, officials say. The villages of Babale and Dabwak, mostly inhabited by a Christian community, were attacked on Sunday night, the officials said. Eleven people were killed the previous night in another village, Tatu. More than 1,000 have been killed in religious and ethnic violence in Jos over the past two years. The state lies in Nigeria's so-called Middle Belt, between the mainly Muslim north and Christian south. The BBC's Ishaq Khalid in the state capital, Jos, says the violence is widely seen as religious, but there are many other factors that trigger it - including political rivalry. In the Plateau state which surrounds Jos, Hausa-speaking Muslims are seen as supporters of the opposition, while ethnic Beroms, who are mostly Christian, are perceived to favour the governing People's Democratic Party.
Pray: that God would intervene and bring peace to this troubled nation and protection for His people. (Ps.5:11)
NIGERIA: Islamists drive farmers from their land
20 Jun 2013Islamic militants have driven 19,000 rice farmers from their land in northeast Nigeria while a military crackdown is preventing thousands more from working their fields, raising fears of imminent food shortages adding to the misery in northeast Nigeria. The abandoned area is fertile, a regional bread basket created by the receding waters of Lake Chad. General hunger is anticipated this year because all roads linking the cities to the farming hinterlands have been closed down. Farmers have been locked out of their lands while those in the hinterland cannot come to the city for tractors or labourers for the next cropping. Meanwhile violence continues with 13 people killed when extremists attacked a boarding school for five hours in Damataru state capital on Sunday night. A student who survived by hiding under a bed said dozens of Boko Haram ordered students to take them to the teachers’ quarters, where they opened fire on teachers and students.
Pray: for an end to the attacks that are terrorizing the population of northeast Nigeria; for minimum violence as troops are deployed. (Ps.68:28)
More: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/18/3457539/islamists-drive-19000-farmers.html
Nigeria: Islamic militants increase attacks
21 Jul 2011
'North Korea is grappling with an unfavourable situation but the regime’s tight grip on its people will prevent any Arab-style uprising’, South Korea’s defence minister said Wednesday. ‘The state of affairs in the North is indeed inauspicious and anything can happen there,’ Kim Kwan-Jin said in a forum. ‘We may consider whether the Jasmine Revolution could find its way into North Korea,’ the minister added. The impoverished North suffers persistent food shortages and downpours this month battered many areas. United Nations agencies say more than six million people urgently need food aid. The South, which blames its neighbour for two deadly border incidents last year, refuses to provide government aid. Pray: that God would open avenues for Christians to serve where aid and resources are in short supply. (Is.32:3) More: http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/20/n-korea-can-avert-uprising-s-korea-minister.html
Many Nigerians are enraged, wondering how a senator notorious for marrying a 14-year-old girl can use Shariah law as an excuse to filibuster a constitutional amendment that has sparked a debate on the age of consent for girls. Since the country's secular and Islamic laws clashed in the upper house of Parliament last week, concerned citizens are using petitions, protests and social networks to demand the Senate revisit the issue. ‘Every Nigerian should bow his or her head in shame because instead of crushing the head of the lustful beast that seeks to fornicate with our children, to steal their virtues and to destroy their future, what the Senate did the other day was to compromise with and cater for the filthy appetites and godless fantasies of a bunch of child molesters and sexual predators,’ Femi Fani-Kayode (a traditional chief and former Cabinet minister) fumed in a letter to The Vanguard newspaper on Monday.
Pray: for the age of consent to remain at 18 in Nigeria and an end to the practice of forcing underage girls into marriage. (Jer.22:16-17)
More: http://www.kwqc.com/story/22902103/islamic-and-secular-laws-clash-in-nigerias-senate
NIGERIA: Inside the lion’s den
08 Dec 2012The following is a portion of a report from a British-Kenyan who visited Maiduguri: ‘Before the chaos took hold, I remembered Maiduguri as a surprisingly cosmopolitan and peaceful town, with an eclectic mix of people of different faiths, ethnicities, and subcultures; different types of food and music.- ordinary people, with a somewhat royal air, steeped in tradition with a somewhat modern and outward look. During my recent time there, I found a Maiduguri under siege by Boko Haram fighters and the Joint Task Force. The colour described above was replaced by a city enmeshed in road blocks, checkpoint and sandbags on every major road and intersection. The city was patrolled by heavily armed military personnel. We heard bombs exploding, and bullets being fired – followed by the screeching of JTF sirens that seemed to be coming from all directions every 2-3 hours. Father David Bridling, from St Patrick’s Catholic Church said half the Christian inhabitants of Borno State have left.’
Pray: for the tens of thousands who have fled from Maiduguri. May they know God’s provision and protection, especially over this Christmas period. (Ps.11)
More: http://www.informationnigeria.org/2012/12/inside-the-lions-den-of-nigerias-boko-haram.html