Nationals from 10 African countries face the steepest barriers to entering the U.S. for business, study, tourism or residency, according to a new study by a Florida law firm specializing in immigration. Senegal, Burundi and Nigeria are at the top…
Nigeria sets up new military operation after deadly attack, while abducted Christians return home
The Nigerian government has announced a military operation to tackle Islamic militants following the killing of scores of people, likely all Muslims. Meanwhile, about 180 Christians who were abducted elsewhere last month have been released.
We need to learn again from the Black Church tradition
Growing up, my parents — Evangelist Idella Cora Thomas and Leonard Thomas — guided me spiritually. They emphasized the importance of spiritual discernment in navigating the world and advocating for justice. They wanted me to understand where evil lurks within…
Trump’s Nigeria strikes: A misleading narrative
On Christmas Day, President Donald Trump announced the United States had launched airstrikes in Sokoto State in Northwestern Nigeria “to protect the country’s Christian population from the terrorist group (ISIS).” Although Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged collaboration with the U.S., many…
What to know about Trump’s Christmas airstrikes in Nigeria
On Christmas Day, while many Americans were unwrapping gifts, the United States military was unwrapping a new phase of engagement in West Africa. At the direction of President Donald Trump, U.S. forces launched Tomahawk cruise missiles into Northwestern Nigeria, targeting…
Starving the mindset that feeds terrorism
Across Nigeria’s highways and farm paths, in markets and dormitories, and even in churches and mosques, faith has become a weapon. The line between devotion and destruction has grown perilously thin. Religious violence here is not new; what is new is…
Understanding the complex violence in Nigeria and Trump’s threat
The tragic national security situation in Nigeria has been thrust into the international spotlight anew with a threat from U.S. President Donald Trump. On Oct. 31, Trump designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for “systematic violations of religious…
Nigerian Catholic priest who had recently served in the US abducted by extremists, church says
A Nigerian Catholic priest who recently served in the United States has been abducted by extremists along with other travelers in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state, the church said.
Feeding The Flock: A Nigerian Priest Uses Farming to Fight Hunger And Deliver Hope
Zachariah Fufeyin, a priest from the Catholic Diocese of Bomadi in southern Nigeria, had only one mission when he started livestock farming at Our Lady of the Waters Farm in November 2019: To help the poor and provide animal protein…
Authoritarian rule is ‘common denominator’ in religious persecution, USCIRF says
Authoritarian rule is the “common denominator” in the worsening of religious persecution around the world, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its 2025 annual report. Last year, totalitarian regimes widened the direct oppression of minority faiths in…
Childhood memories of Christmas in Nigeria
Some of the most enduring lessons of life emanate from our parents. As a child who was born and grew up in Jos, in the northern part of Nigeria, one of my childhood memories was the annual visit with my…
3 killed as Methodist violence flares in Nigeria
Three United Methodists were killed Dec. 15 when a United Methodist Church in northeast Nigeria was attacked allegedly by supporters of the breakaway Global Methodist Church. A few days prior to the attack, a dissident organization that has promoted the…