04/20/2022 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – At least three girls were abducted by the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP), an offshoot of Boko Haram, on Tuesday in Chibok, Nigeria.
Christians living in the Chibok area of Borno State report being attacked more than 100 times since 2014, when nearly 300 Christian girls were abducted from the community by Boko Haram terrorists.
The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an offshoot of Boko Haram, is responsible for many of these attacks, including one on January 20, 2021, which resulted in the death of one Christian and the abduction of seventeen Christian girls aged 10 to 13.
Just six days earlier, on January 14, three Christians were killed, and five girls were kidnapped in the same community. The terrorists burned down the village church in each attack.
Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith last year, according to Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List report. The report also listed Nigeria as the country with the highest number of kidnapped Christians in the world. ICC named Nigeria the worst persecuting country in its comprehensive, 140-page 2021 Persecutor of the Year report.
Despite the ongoing, and ever-increasing persecution that Christians face in Nigeria, the U.S. Department of State recently removed the country from its list of “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)” for religious persecution.
Human rights groups reacted to the de-listing with strong condemnation, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a government body, called the move “appalling.”
Please be in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. In addition, we encourage you to contact the Nigerian embassy in your country today, calling on them to address the persecution of Christians.
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