Nigeria (MNN) — Attacks on Christians in Nigeria by militant Islamic groups have not diminished at all during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Several brutal assaults took place just this week when Fulani herdsmen killed men, women, and children.
Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs USA (VOM USA) says since March 23, “Our workers in Nigeria have identified 13 different attacks, mostly in Kaduna state and Plateau State, involving a total of 44 people being killed. The rate of attacks has just kept right on going in spite of the coronavirus, and in spite of the shelter in place orders that people are trying to follow around the world.”
A waterfall in Kaduna State. Pray that violence against Christians will end in Nigeria and that Christ’s love and justice will flow over the country. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Most of these attacks have been perpetrated by members of the Fulani tribe. Nettleton says attackers struck every few days throughout the month of April and into May. “That points to the animosity that the attackers have. It also points to the inability of the Nigerian government to put a stop to these kinds of attacks and to protect their citizens.”
One Church
Christians around the world form one Body, Nettleton says. And when one part feels pain, the other members feel it too. “Voice of the Martyrs is privileged to be able to stand with them. And in fact, I received a picture this week of one of our workers in Nigeria, with a mask on to protect against the coronavirus, but delivering aid to some of the families who had been affected by these attacks.”
You can help VOM USA serve Christians in Nigeria. Nettleton says, “Voice of the Martyrs invites people to support our work in Nigeria, and to support the delivery of the aid material that goes there.”
But the most important thing Christians can do is pray that the attacks will stop and that the hearts of attackers will be changed by the world-renewing power of the Holy Spirit. Pray also that the Nigerian government will rise up and protect all its people, including Christians in the North.
The Kaduna River, in the Kaduna State of Nigeria. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
