Terrorists suspected by locals to be Fulani militiamen attacked a church in Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria, on 5 June, Pentecost Sunday, killing dozens of worshippers and injuring several others, local media report.
The attack took place at St Francis Catholic Church in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State during a Pentecost Sunday worship service.
Pastor Yohanna Matongson from rural Plateau State was kidnapped by a gang of five AK-47-carrying militants who were looking to extort money from his small congregation. Such extortions pose a threat to the church's finances and prevent growth, paving the way for Islamic domination in an area currently witnessing rapid encroachment by Fulani Muslims, writes Masara Kim.
Christians displaced in Nigeria’s Plateau State have expressed alarm that terrorists are taking over their towns while the government turns a blind eye, writes journalist Masara Kim.
From January 1 to January 21, at least 615 people have been reported as murdered by ‘bandits’, ‘herdsmen’, ‘gunmen’ and ‘Fulani’ militants, and at least 231 known persons were abducted by the aforementioned. Approximately 13,050 Nigerian people have been displaced from their homes due to the violence. These statistics have been aggregated from reports in both the international and local Nigerian press.
Luka Binniyat, a journalist and human rights activist from southern Kaduna State in Nigeria, has been jailed since 4 November for his reporting on Fulani violence against Christians in the state. His detention has caused an outcry from defenders of freedom of the press across Nigeria and beyond.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has joined more than a dozen concerned groups and individuals in signing a letter to United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing dismay over the removal of Nigeria from the list of countries of particular concern (CPC) in matters of religious freedom.
The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), has called on the Kaduna State government to immediately and unconditionally release detained journalist and human rights activist Luka Binniyat. The call came at a protest march which took place at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) council headquarters in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on Saturday 18 December 2021.
At least ten people were killed in a midnight attack by suspected jihadists on a small Christian town in central Nigeria’s Plateau State on 26 November, according to local officials. Survivors say they were attacked by their Fulani neighbours despite a peace deal signed with Fulani leaders on 21 October.
Shortly after reporting on massacres that claimed the lives of 42 Christians in Nigeria’s Kaduna State, Luka Binniyat – a Nigeria Report contributor - was jailed by the country's federal government.
Dr Onyemaechi Franklyne Ogbunwezeh interviewed on NewsBand TV about the decision of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to delist Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act.