Tag 'boko haram' - NCRegister

A police officer stands guard June 6 inside St. Francis Catholic Church, a day after an attack that targeted worshippers attending Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost in Owo, Nigeria. The gunmen, who killed 50 people, opened fire on worshippers both inside and outside the building in a coordinated attack before escaping the scene, authorities and witnesses said.

In Nigeria, Faith Is Flourishing in the Face of the Deadly Persecution of Catholics

Religious-freedom expert Stephen Rasche discusses the recent deadly violence against Nigerian Christians, including this weekend’s Pentecost Mass massacre, and what Catholics elsewhere can do to help.

Edward Pentin Interviews June 6, 2022

Fr. Elijah Juma Wada was abducted on June 30, 2021, in Nigeria’s Maiduguri diocese.

Nigeria: Suspected Members of Boko Haram Kidnap Catholic Priest

Father Juma’s abduction is the latest in a series of kidnappings in Nigeria that appear to target Christians, including priests.

CNA/ACI Africa World July 7, 2021

A man reacts as he reunites with his son who was among those who were kidnapped upon their release in Katsina, on December 18, 2020. - Exhausted and dishevelled, several hundred Nigerian schoolboys seized in a mass abduction claimed by Boko Haram experienced their first full day of freedom on December 18, 2020 after a nearly week-long ordeal.

‘Rape, Slavery, Murder’ in Nigeria: Religious Freedom Advocate Sounds Alarm on Christian Genocide

Vice President Eric Patterson of the Religious Freedom Institute discusses the recent uptick in violence in Nigeria, the two most oppressive factions on the ground, and how the country could face the same fate as Rwanda if international inaction continues.

Alyssa Murphy World June 22, 2021

Christian Aid Workers Executed in Nigeria: ‘Beyond Reprehensible’

Three of five men brutally executed in a video posted online were known employees of Christian aid agencies.

Catholic News Agency World July 28, 2020

Nigerian Priest Kidnapped After Sunday Mass Has Been Set Free

The kidnapping is the latest in a series of abductions and killings in Nigeria which have involved Catholics and other Christians; clergy, seminarians, and lay people.

Catholic News Agency World March 4, 2020

Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, Nigeria, where four seminarians were abducted Jan. 8, 2020.

Kidnapped Nigerian Seminarian Has Been Killed

In the last year, several priests and seminarians, along with pastors from other Christian denominations, have been kidnapped in Nigeria, some for ranson, and some by Islamist militant and terrorist groups.

Aci Africa/CNA News February 2, 2020

Relatives hold a banner to press for the release of Leah Sharibu, who was abducted by Boko Haram Islamists, during a rally to mark her 16th birthday and two years in captivity at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, on May 14, 2019. Sharibu was among more than 100 schoolgirls abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in Dapchi, northeast Nigeria on Feb. 19, 2018. But while schoolmates had been freed, she has been held for refusing to denounce her religion.

Africa’s Young Christian Communities Are Now in Islamic-Extremist Crosshairs

DECADE IN REVIEW: The continent, home to the world’s largest Christian population and considered the Church’s ‘beacon of hope,’ faces a growing threat of religious hostility.

Nina Shea Commentaries January 11, 2020