Nigeria: Gunmen kill Mubi students
06 Oct 2012At least 20 people, mostly students, were killed by unknown gunmen in north-eastern Nigeria at a student hostel. One Mubi resident said more than 40 students had been killed but there is no official death toll. The killing comes days after a major operation against the Boko Haram militant group in the town. BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says mobile phone masts in the area were recently attacked by the militants, so getting information from Mubi is difficult. ‘Everybody is scared.’ A resident who did not want his name to be used told the BBC that men in military uniform asked the students to line up and say their names. Some were then shot and others stabbed with knives and their bodies left in lines outside the buildings. He said it is not clear why some were killed and others spared. Some of those killed were Muslims and others Christian.
Pray: for all those living in fear in Nigeria to have a sense of God’s presence in their lives daily. Pray for Nigeria to come into the inheritance that God has provided for her. (Ps.27:13-4) & (Ps.35:20-23)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19801814
Nigeria: Gunmen and bombs
09 Aug 2012A suicide bomber in Damaturu Nigeria has killed at least six soldiers and two civilians when he rammed a car into a military vehicle that was part of a convoy. No group has said it carried out the bombing. Damaturu is frequently attacked by Boko Haram. See: Nineteen worshippers were killed when gunmen opened fire at Deeper Life Evangelical Church during their Monday evening service in Kogi State. No group has yet claimed responsibility, but Boko Haram has claimed scores of attacks on churches in northern and central Nigeria in recent months. Twenty-four hours after the church attack gunmen came to a local mosque and tried to force their way in as Muslims gathered for their Tafsir prayer. They opened fire and killed two soldiers guarding the premises. See: Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer. It is roughly divided between a Muslim north and Christian south.
Pray: for Christian and Muslim leaders in Nigeria's Government to be able to instil calm and a peaceful co-existence. (Pr.29:4)
Ten civilians have died after gunmen stormed a pub in central Nigeria's Plateau state and opened fire on customers, authorities say. The attackers wore military uniforms according to eye witness reports, but the army has denied any involvement. ‘You can get camouflage clothes from the market,’ a military spokesman told the BBC Hausa service. Hundreds of people have been killed in Plateau state in recent years in clashes between rival ethnic groups. The state lieson the fault line between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian and animist south. As a result rival groups, split along religious, ethnic and political lines, have clashed in the region on numerous occasions over the past decade. The pub shooting took place in the remote village of Heipang in the predominantly Christian Barkin Ladi region, army spokesman Capt Salisu Ibrahim Mustapha said. No responsibility has been claimed for the attack so far.
Pray: against these ongoing attacks by those who hide under the guise of the authorities. (Pr.26:24)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20512754
Nigeria: Government tactics and Muslim converts
05 Jul 2012President Goodluck Jonathan fired his defence minister and national security adviser, saying the government needs new tactics to counter Boko Haram. Since 2001 when Sharia Law was established in Northern Nigeria 13,750+ Christians have been killed. Since last December 300+ churches have been destroyed. Five million Christians in Northern Nigeria live under severe persecution with Islamic groups regularly issuing ultimatums to Christian communities to leave the area or die. Christians suffer attacks which are pre-planned and well-coordinated. There are many attempts to force Christians to convert to Islam under the threat of death. Many have courageously died as martyrs rather than deny Christ. However - many Muslims, both persecutors and those appalled by the behaviour of Jihadists have been won to Christ in recent years. Muslims complain that Christian Evangelism has become a big threat to them. See:
Pray: for God to show President Jonathan and Nigeria’s leaders the way forward and for many more Muslims to come to know the only way to salvation. (2 Thes. 3:1-2)
More: http://www.npr.org/2012/06/25/155710016/religious-violence-shakes-up-northern-nigeria
Five Christians were shot dead near Jos, Plateau State, on 29 August by Muslim gunmen, who had stopped the bus they were travelling in and separated them from the other passengers. They found out who among them were Christians and forced the five to lie down in a ditch. At this point, another Christian man became embroiled in the scene when the Islamists stopped his motorbike. He said: The gunmen asked me about my religion, and when I told them I was a Christian, they asked me to join a group of people already ordered to lie down by the side of the road. It was when the gunmen started shooting and killing those of us that were Christians grouped together that I ran into a nearby maize farm, because it was already dark. Four other Christians, including a pregnant woman, were injured in the attack.
Pray: for God’s people that they will be protected and their enemies will be held back. (Ps.68:1)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/kidnapped.nigerian.archbishop.freed/33990.htm
Nigeria: Fear of fresh violence
11 Sep 2010
A prison break by an armed group known as Boko Haram has raised fears of renewed violence in northern Nigeria just months before elections. The group staged a raid on the prison on Tuesday night in the town of Bauchi, freeing more than 100 followers. The attack left the prison in ruins and showed the group, which is seeking to institute sharia (Islamic law) in the country had access to the sophisticated weapons it needed to overpower the prison guards. The attackers fired on the prison guards as they were breaking their daily Ramadan fast on Tuesday evening. Authorities have arrested 13 suspects in connection with the prison break although residents in and around Bauchi remain afraid that Boko Haram will launch other attacks. Boko Haram - which means ‘Western education is sin’ in the (northern) Hausa language - was blamed for riots and attacks in the north last summer that left more than 700 people dead.
Pray: that the expected violence will not happen and the enemy will be confounded. (Ps.7:9)
More: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/09/20109922058670653.html
NIGERIA: Factors fuelling fighting
10 Feb 2013Violence is intensifying in Nigeria. A Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, said that although religion remains a divisive issue conflict occurs when ethnic, religious and economic boundaries coincide - as these factors are interconnected. Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, (165 million people) ethnic and economic differences are widespread, (350 different ethnic groups) with agricultural careers ranging from farmers to herders. It's split nearly evenly between southern Christians and northern Muslims. There are claims and counter-claims with too many spokespeople from each religion regarding each other with disdain. Nigeria is tottering on the brink. The question is whether or not it will fall off. However, Christianity in the country is huge, vibrant and growing and intercessors need to be concerned about Boko Haram disrupting the peace of Nigeria and the possibility of civil war. Nigeria sends thousands of missionaries throughout Africa. For that to be disrupted would hinder the spread of the Gospel throughout the continent.
Pray: for God’s power to work through all agencies working towards peace, and may the Church continue to grow in power, wisdom and authority. (Pr.8:15-18)
More: http://www.christianpost.com/news/understanding-nigerias-raging-christian-muslim-conflict-65847/
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a St Finbar’s Catholic Church in Jos as worshippers were filing out after Sunday mass. Seven worshipers were killed and panic followed causing security guards to shoot and kill a further three. It was the second suicide attack on a church in Jos in two weeks, after a February 26 attack claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram killed three and injured dozens. Jos, a faultline in Nigeria's Muslim-Christian divide between north and south, was tense in the aftermath of the bombing. There are rumours of reprisals from Christian youths, but it is hoped the security agents are on top of the situation. Eye-witness accounts said, ‘Boy scouts tried to stop the suicide bombers car' and ‘the security guards, who were mainly members of the Boys Brigade, tried to prevent the car from entering the compound and in the process the car exploded.’
Pray: against confusion in the aftermath of death, persecution and prejudice. (Am.5:14)
More: http://news.yahoo.com/nigeria-suicide-bomber-kills-three-church-attack-145431554.html