Brutal murders of Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt continue

Local community leaders say that the attacks followed tactics similar to those employed by armed bandits responsible for the Christmas massacres in Nigeria. Religion is a factor in the conflict which also has ethnic and economic roots. (Archive photo: a woman in tears after the attacks of Christmas 2023. This Easter time, the same scenario …

Breaking News-Burkina Faso-Catechist kidnapped and killed

Aid to the Church in Need expresses its deepest concern and sorrow following the kidnapping and subsequent killing of the catechist Édouard Yougbare from the parish of Saatenga in Fada Gourma, Burkina Faso. The catechist was abducted last night by terrorists and his lifeless body was found near Zigni this morning. According to local sources …

Nigeria-The Way of the Cross of a kidnapped priest

Fr. Idahosa Amadasu, from the Diocese of Benin, is one of hundreds of Catholic priests who has been kidnapped and held for ransom by armed bandits in Nigeria over the past few decades. For several days, he suffered fear, humiliation, hunger, and cold, but he found strength in his faith in Jesus to endure a …

Nigeria-Bishop challenges government to improve security or assume the consequences

Archbishop Matthew Man’Oso Ndagoso visited the village of Adama Dutse, which was attacked in February, leaving widespread destruction and 11 dead. (Photo: prayer at the cemetery where the 11 victims are buried). The archbishop of Kaduna, in Nigeria, has expressed disappointment in the federal government for not ensuring the safety of the population, following another …

Nigeria: In 2023, attacks caused over 500 victims in Nigeria’s Benue State

Between January and the end of December 2023, the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, suffered 119 attacks against the settled populations by Fulani herdsmen.  According to a report sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), over 400 people were killed, and more than 100 others were wounded, raped, or …

Nigeria -No justice for 300 people massacred on Christmas Eve

Three weeks after extremists murdered more than 300 people, burnt down entire villages, and destroyed food supplies in coordinated attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State, none of the perpetrators have been held to account. Masara Kim, a local journalist whose cousin was killed, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that hundreds of …

ACN to focus on Middle East, Sahel, and Latin America in 2024

Regina Lynch, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), highlights the worrying increase in religious freedom violations around the world, but also the positive reaction to ACN campaigns such as Red Wednesday and One Million Children Praying the Rosary. You were nominated executive president in April 2023. What is your view for …

Fulani herders kill nearly 200 Christians at Christmas in central Nigeria

Terrorists caused death and destruction during the Christmas holidays among the Christian communities in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Mangu (but Bokkos was the epicentre) Plateau State, central Nigeria. The executive president of ACN, Regina Lynch, regrets yer another episode of violence against Christians in Nigeria. “This year began with the brutal murder of Fr Isaac …

First “Courage to be a Christian” award goes to Nigerian Pentecost bombing victims

Margaret Attah—who lost both her legs and part of her vision in an attack on a church in western Nigeria—and Dominic Attah travelled to London to receive the award, presented by the UK office of Aid to the Church in Need. Two of the survivors of an attack that left 41 Christians dead and more …

Mali – German priest freed after over a year in captivity

Fr Ha-Jo was aware of the risks to his safety by continuing to work in Mali, but persisted, driven by a desire to improve the situation for the country overall, and to remain with his small Christian community. A German priest who was kidnapped in Mali over a year ago has finally been freed. Hans-Joachim …