The Christian Council of Nigeria extended condolences for those who lost loved ones amid violent attacks in remote villages in northern Nigeria. At least 140 were killed as assailants targeted 17 communities, burning down most houses in the area.
Matthias Schmale is a UN resident and humanitarian coordinator based in Nigeria. He previously served with the UN Relief and Works Agency, and is also a former World Council of Churches (WCC) steward. He took some time to reflect on his concerns, current work, and fond memories of his days as a steward.
With a focus on peacebuilding and human rights protection, The United Evangelical Mission’s International Summer School 2023, organized in cooperation with the World Council of Churches and other partners, took place in August and September in Hofgeismar, Germany.
During an ecumenical morning prayer held 15 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace, holding in prayer many nations across the world facing challenges to living together in harmony.
“They came to our house. We refused to open the door so they broke in though the window.”
That’s how Damaris Blessing Tiswan, a finance student at Kaduna Polytechnic, began describing her ordeal of being kidnapped with her four siblings at midnight.
On the eve of presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof Dr Jerry Pillay, on behalf of the global fellowship, extended prayers for an enduring peace for the people and nation of Nigeria.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed deep shock at a recent attack on a church community during a Sunday morning mass at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria.
In a statement during its executive committee meeting, the World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed relief at hearing the news of the safe release of kidnapped religious leaders in Nigeria—but also expressed alarm over an escalating crisis of criminal kidnappings across the nation.
On the International Day of Living Together in Peace declared by the United Nations, members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship from countries troubled by war and conflict gathered to pray for sustainable peace in the world.
After an armed gang in northern Nigeria killed eight people, injured two dozen more, and abducted some of the 400 passengers on a train, the Christian Association of Nigeria repeated demands for greater government security.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed deep concern about the worsening security situation in Nigeria, and the impact on the people and churches of the country.
As churches and other groups battle sexual and gender-based violence, it is urgent to include men in trainings and amplify the issues for global accompaniment and support, church women leaders, lay members and gender advocates recommended at a recent church human rights training in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Many women and girls are still struggling to attain their fundamental human rights, despite churches and the systems of the world affirming the equality of men and women, a church human rights training for young women and girls in Nigeria heard recently.
In Nigeria’s northwest state of Kaduna, Christians are bearing the brunt of insecurity and violence, as bandits attack homes, villages and churches, killing Christians and kidnapping others for ransom.
At the centre of the communal violence is religious persecution, territorial ambition and ethnic cleansing in the region where communities have settled along religious lines, according to Rev. John Joseph Hayab, the country director for the Global Peace Foundation, Nigeria.
Members of the Christian Council of Nigeria have adopted “Out of the Shadows,” a resource designed to end all forms of sexual violence against children.
As children and women in Nigeria become targets of rising insecurity and violence, churches are moving to offer support to the victims, while amplifying their voice against the challenge, according to senior Christian women leaders in the West African nation.
Religious leaders condemned the kidnapping of 140 schoolchildren from the Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna, Nigeria, and called for their full release. The attack on 5 July was the fourth mass school kidnapping in Kaduna state since December. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
The “Nigeria Project” is both viable and desirable, despite a security crisis overwhelming the West African nation, said Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, retired Roman Catholic archbishop emeritus of Abuja.
For the people of Nigeria, 2020 was a gruelling year as they faced the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuing scourge of the extremist militant group Boko Haram, extrajudicial killings, and violent responses to popular protests against police brutality and other social and economic issues.
Damaris, a Nigerian woman, described her experience of 2020: “We’ve gone through hell.”
Damaris and her sisters were kidnapped in March 2020 and threatened with death as their kidnappers demanded money. Her father had to sell everything and beg on the streets to meet their demands. “We are just a common people in Nigeria,” she said. “We don’t know what we did.”
