In 2022, much of the world’s attention has been focused on the horrific warfare in Ukraine, along with Iran’s courageous demonstrators, who are being violently assaulted for rejecting their country’s radically brutal regime. However, while these shocking abuses have carried on. The West African country of Nigeria continues to experience what has often been described as a “silent slaughter.” In recent years, tens of thousands of Christian believers have been killed in relentless assaults on their villages, homes, churches, and families.
And now, at this very moment, with Christmas approaching, there is an urgent need for our prayers. During church worship services, celebrations, and reunions of families and friends, the magnified dangers of violent attacks are ever-increasing. It’s time for us to seek God’s protection over Nigeria’s vulnerable Christian believers.
In the midst of increasing anarchy in Nigeria — Africa’s most populous and prosperous country — Christians constantly suffer the most outrageous violence imaginable. The persistent killing, kidnapping, rape, and maiming of believers have continued to escalate until today. A November 2022 report from The Christian Post paints a horrifying portrait of the ongoing abductions and murders of Christian women, men, and children:
Islamic jihadist groups in Nigeria are responsible for killing at least 4,000 Christians and abducting more than 2,300 other Christians in the first ten months of this year alone, according to a report released this week by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law. The Fulani herdsmen and Islamic terror groups allied with it were responsible for 2,650 of the 4,020 Christian deaths between January and October.
The other terror groups, including Islamic State in West Africa Province, Boko Haram and Ansaru, accounted for 450 Christian deaths. It added that the Fulani (Zamfara) bandits and their splinter groups were responsible for 370 Christian deaths. Fulani herdsmen and Fulani (Zamfara) bandits and other armed jihadist groups that are “Nigerian government-friendly” abducted more than 2,315 Christians…
The shocking reality is that this abuse and violence has occurred for years with virtually no response or defence from either federal or local Nigerian authorities. State police and the Nigerian military appear to turn a blind eye to kidnappings, torched villages, and massacre after massacre. In addition, local witnesses have often reported that some Nigerian authorities have participated in the attacks.
By: Lela Gilbert
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