In the last couple of years, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has attracted national and international headlines for violence perpetrated by the terrorist group Boko Haram or other criminal elements within the country. Many of the incidents, particularly those relating…
Three female victims of Boko Haram terror graduate from U.S. colleges this spring
Three Nigerian students who once were kidnapped or had a family member killed by Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria have graduated from American universities this spring. Joy Bishara and Lydia Pogu recently earned degrees from Southeastern University in Florida, while…
In Africa, some religious leaders pay a heavy price for their faith
The look on his face at the hospital bed where he was undergoing treatment showed a man who was recovering, happy and grateful to God to be alive. It was the opposite situation on Sunday, April 25, when an encounter…
With Idriss Déby gone, can Chad military win the war against terrorists and earn the trust of the people?
In the past couple of weeks since the passing of Chadian leader Idriss Déby, the country has become a subject of local and international discourse unlike anything people remember of the West African nation in recent decades. The discussions center…
Climate change is heating up the terrorist conflict in Africa’s Sahel region
In Africa’s Sahel region — the current hotbed of terrorist violence — climate change has become a leading cause of worsening conditions. Although Nigeria is not new to security challenges, some commentators in the country recently have linked the worrying…
Fire from Africa: The influence of ‘reverse missions’ today
While in the 19th and 20th centuries, America was seen as an exporter of Christianity to the rest of the world — in particular Africa — the 21st century is bringing a change some have called “reverse missions.” The United…
Terrorist group in Mozambique accused of beheading children
Islamic militants in Mozambique are committing gruesome acts of terror against children, according to Save the Children UK. The international relief agency reports that children as young as 11 have been apprehended and beheaded by militants in the Mozambique province…
U.S. agency calls for more religious freedom in Nigeria
Less than three months after being designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department over its religious record, Nigeria has again became the focus of another U.S. agency — the Commission on International Religious Freedom. A virtual…
Three years later, Leah Sharibu is still held captive, reportedly for refusing to renounce her faith
In the last three years since a group of Boko Haram terrorists stormed and kidnapped 109 students from Government Girls’ Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, in northeast Nigeria, much has changed except one thing: Only one of…