Nigeria came into the international limelight in the year 2000 as the country began a full year of democratic government following prolonged military rule. It also saw the rise of Islamic fundamentalism as several northern Nigerian states have moved to implement Islamic (sharia) law. The resulting Christian-Muslim conflicts have threatened to permanently divide Africa’s most populous nation.
The Russian-made MU2 Antonov aircraft, with Sudanese government markings, made six bombing runs on Thursday, March 23, over the grounds of the Christian Liberty Academy of Southern Sudan in Western Equatoria, dropping one or two 250-pound-shrapnel bombs at a time. This bombing mission by the Islamic-led government forces of Sudan inflicted numerous injuries on students and their parents.
On 20 November, the day after US Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice’s arrival in Marial Bai to meet with victims of slavery, the armed forces of the Government of Sudan executed seven black African school boys following a mid-morning slave raid on the nearby Guong Nowh Community Elementary School, according to Simon Wol, the Civil Commissioner of Aweil West County. Government soldiers also enslaved 24 other children, including six girls.
“If you want to save your lives, don’t show this film again.” This was the warning made to the Great Commission team after they had shown the Jesus film in Birnin Kebbi, capital of Nigeria’s Kebbi state. Kebbi, along with several other northern Nigerian states, has adopted “sharia” (Islamic law) to operate above the local and national legal systems.
The head of the Nigerian Bible Society recently released the casualty figures of Christians killed and churches destroyed during the February and May religious clashes between Muslims and Christians in Kaduna, the capital city of northern Nigeria’s Kaduna state.
Bloody clashes that erupted September 7-9 between Muslims and Christians in Bambam, in northern Nigeria’s Gombe state, left 25 persons dead and property damage estimated in the millions of dollars.
Thousands of Christians affected by religious conflicts in Kaduna in northern Nigeria are languishing in refugee camps across the state without receiving help from the government.
14 April 2000 (Newsroom) — Some 400 Coptic Orthodox Christians ended a two-day standoff with police Friday near Cairo after agreeing to abandon their occupation of a church building that had been closed down by authorities, according to an expatriate Coptic group.
A Christian initiative aimed at rehabilitating individuals and churches traumatized during sectarian riots in Kaduna earlier this year was launched in Lagos by a Pentecostal assembly, the Living Waters Unlimited Church.
Twenty pastors from various church denominations were among the hundreds of Christians killed during the two religious crises that occurred in northern Nigeria’s Kaduna city in February and May.
Rebel soldiers have targeted Christians and churches of various denominations during the past year as this West African country’s civil war, one of the region’s bloodiest conflicts, shows few signs of abating.
A resurgence of violence between Muslims and Christians erupted on May 23 and 24 in Kaduna city of northern Nigeria, but sources dispute the extent of the carnage.
KAMPALA, 16 May 2000 (Newsroom) — The Fellowship of Born Again Churches in Uganda has launched a program to regulate the operations of Pentecostal churches in the wake of a government crackdown on cults.
The building’s walls crumble when you touch them. Chipped and broken cinder blocks litter the floor, along with charred scraps of wood and broken glass.
Two Christian women were abducted by Muslim youths enforcing Sharia (Islamic law) in the capital of Zamfara state in northern Nigeria, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The women managed to escape several hours later and reported their kidnapping to police.
A Christian-Muslim conflict in Damboa in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state resulted in the deaths of 15 Christians, and four churches were burned.
Nigerian police authorities reported that 123 churches were burned and 55 mosques razed during the Kaduna religious riots in late February that involved violent clashes between Christians and Muslims over the implementation of sharia (Islamic legal system) in northern Nigeria.
Churches throughout Nigeria continue to send relief supplies to help more than 50,000 people displaced by religious riots in the city of Kaduna in February. Many churches in the state of Kaduna have turned their compounds into rehabilitation centers as well and are assisting orphans and others left homeless by the fighting.
NIGERIA, 4 April 2000 (Newsroom) — Northern state governors in Nigeria have approved the formation of a committee of Muslims and Christians to dialogue on aspects of the controversial Sharia, or Islamic law, which was implemented by several states earlier this year.
Baptists in Nigeria are sifting through the ashes and counting the cost after the Baptist seminary in Kaduna was attacked during riots in late February.