New killing spree targets school children in Nigeria

Beginning May 12, militants in Nigeria targeted Christians, including children as young as two, for beheadings and mass kidnappings.

Our field shares that “extremist militant activities in different parts of northern Nigeria continue unchecked and Christians and other minority communities remain the most vulnerable to attacks.”

At least 50 Christians have been killed in the last two months, and many houses and churches have been burned down. The accounts of these attacks are difficult but also underscore the vital and urgent need for prayer.
 

Close to a hundred kidnapped

In two separate incidents on May 15, armed men on motorcycles kidnapped children and teachers. In the northeast Nigerian town of Mussa in Borno state, an estimated 50 children, mostly between the ages of 2 and 5, were kidnapped from three schools, reports the BBC.

On the opposite end of the country in the southwest region in Oyo State, gunmen also invaded Ahoro-Esinele community, killing a teacher and abducting a school principal alongside an unspecified number of students when two secondary schools were attacked. Between 40 and 45 people were kidnapped. The schools are located in predominantly Christian communities; however, reports have yet to confirm whether all of the kidnapped children are Christians.

In a statement on Monday, Dr. Suleimon Olanrewaju, the special advisor on media to Oyo state Governor Seyi Makinde, said a tactical team of soldiers attempting to intervene were killed when they encountered improvised explosive devices (IEDs) hidden by the extremists.

At press time, no specific group had taken responsibility for the attacks.
 

7 Christians beheaded in Borno State

In another incident on 12 May, a faction of Boko Haram terrorists known as Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) beheaded at least seven captives when they tried to flee the camp where they were held in the mountains of Borno state.

Independent online news agency Sahara Reporters reports the faction has 400 others in their captivity who remain in deteriorating conditions in remote mountain camps.

According to various media reports, in recent months, multiple captives have died of starvation, physical abuse, forced labour, a lack of medical care and psychological pressure awaiting an uncertain fate.
 

Church service attacked

Yet another attack in northwest Nigeria’s Kaduna state is the latest in what our field says is a series of Fulani militant attacks in the mostly Christian area. The Bege Baptist Church had gathered for worship when Fulani militants burst into the church.

Calling the attack “a living nightmare,” one church member shared details: “The Fulani militants came in their numbers and operated unhindered because they were wielding automatic weapons.”

Initially, militants kidnapped 40, but 24 escaped. Now four women, four men and eight children remain in captivity.
 

US presence in Nigeria

On 16 May, US President Donald Trump announced on social media that US and Nigerian forces had killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki on Nigerian soil. The militant was second-in-command of ISIS in Nigeria.

  “Our local church partners are aware of reports that senior IS leader, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, was killed in a joint military operation between the US and Nigeria over the weekend,” says Jo Newhouse*, Open Doors spokesperson for our work in sub-Saharan Africa. “While this radical militant was responsible for inflicting so much pain on Christians and Muslims in northeastern Nigeria, we are reminded that as followers of Christ, we always pray for the salvation of our persecutors.

“Sadly, we also know that removing one leader like Abu-Bilal al-Minuki may be a blow for the group, but there will be others who can fill that space to continue raining misery in the Lake Chad basin on Christians and others who do not buy into the radical ideology.

“We continue to ask Christians to pray for their fellow brothers and sisters in northern Nigeria who are facing extreme levels of persecution.”
 

‘Life comes to a halt’

Too often, continued attacks like these and kidnappings of Christians are planned and carried out with a very specific purpose: to cause immense fear and weaken, even cripple, the church in Nigeria. And they have grown increasingly effective at fulfilling their purpose.

  “These attacks not only disrupt church activities, but the entire lives of Christians who live in fear,” says Abiodun Musbau* a senior church leader in northern Nigeria. “They can't go to church, they can't send their children to school. Life comes to a halt.”

Additionally, the ransom payments that militants ask for put increased financial pressure on the church, as families scramble to pay the large ransom demand, leaving them in poverty. In captivity, former captives tell us they endured emotional, physical and sexual abuse, as they are treated more harshly than Muslim captives.

This spree of attacks underscores the crushing violence the Nigerian church is up against. Pray with us for the protection and safe return of these captives and our family in sub-Saharan Africa, where the simple decision to attend a church service comes with great risk.

Now is the time to pray and sign the Open Doors Africa petition calling for action. The petition will be presented to the United Nations, European Union, African Union and local governments.

*Name changed for security reasons