Nigerian police have confirmed that a large group of Christian worshippers were kidnapped by suspected Muslim gunmen from three churches in a remote area of Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State, reversing an earlier denial that authorities said had been “widely misinterpreted.”
The wife and daughter of a late Anglican priest who died in captivity have regained their freedom after nearly three months in the hands of kidnappers, as concern mounted Monday over the abductions of more than 150 worshippers in coordinated attacks on churches in northern Nigeria, officials and sources said.
Nigeria says it has provided intelligence support to the United States ahead of Christmas Day airstrikes targeting militants linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) group in the country’s northwest, where Christians had been among those suffering from Islamic extremism.
The remaining 130 schoolchildren and staff abducted by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria last month — one of the largest mass kidnappings in the country’s history — have been freed, officials confirmed.
Some 100 students have been rescued, and about 50 others escaped following Nigeria’s largest Christian school kidnappings in recent years, several sources confirmed Wednesday.
A Catholic priest remained missing in northern Nigeria Thursday after being abducted from his residence in Kaduna State, Worthy News learned.
A Christian farmer and evangelist in Nigeria said Monday he had fled to Lagos with his family after an Anglican priest kidnapped in the northwest last month was killed in captivity.
Desperate parents in northwest Nigeria were still missing their children Monday as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed that suspected Islamic gunmen kidnapped at least 303 students and 12 teachers at a Catholic school — the nation’s largest such attack in more than a year.
At least scores of students were abducted from a Catholic mission school in Nigeria’s troubled North Central region early Friday, just days after gunmen attacked a church, killing two people and taking dozens of worshippers hostage, officials and witnesses said.
U.S.-based singer and rap star Nicki Minaj brought her global profile to the United Nations on Tuesday to draw attention to the mass killings of Christians in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, where more than 7,000 Christians were murdered in the first seven months of this year, according to the watchdog group Intersociety.
Gunmen abducted 25 students from a girls’ school in northwest Nigeria early Monday after killing at least one staff member, adding to fears among the nation’s Christian minority, police and other sources confirmed.
A coalition of American Christian leaders gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Friday to pray and “thank President Donald J. Trump” for reportedly designating Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over the killing of thousands of Christians by Islamic groups.
Nigeria’s government rejected on Wednesday its designation by the United States as a “country of particular concern” over alleged religious freedom violations, saying the move was based on misinformation and faulty data — despite reports that Islamic fighters killed nine Christians and a pastor in the past week as part of a deadly campaign against Christians in the nation.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has indicated openness to meet U.S. President Donald J. Trump after Washington warned it is reviewing military options in response to continuing attacks on Christians in Nigeria, his office said Sunday.
Armed assailants in north-central Nigeria killed a local pastor after abducting him and collecting ransom payments from his rural community, highlighting a growing wave of kidnappings terrorizing Kwara State.
A Catholic priest has been shot and killed in southeastern Nigeria amid ongoing violence against clergy in the country, church officials say.
A chilling new documentary has highlighted the growing crisis for Christians in Nigeria, where investigators say more than three million believers face persecution from Islamic militants and other extremist groups.
Clashes between local security forces and Islamic fighters linked to crime gangs and designated terror groups killed more than 100 people across Nigeria over the weekend, with many victims identified as Christians, several sources confirmed Sunday.
Christians in Nigeria’s central Benue state were mourning on Wednesday seven believers reportedly killed by Islamic Fulani herdsmen in escalating anti-Christian attacks.
Members of Islamic extremist group Boko Haram killed at least eight Christians in two separate attacks across Borno State over the weekend, local sources and authorities confirmed.