by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Christians in Nigeria continue to be killed and kidnapped by Islamic terrorists, and August 2022 has been another harsh month of attacks and suffering, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
On August 18, Fulani militant herdsmen in Gussau, Zamfara state stormed into the home of attorney Benedict Azza, director of the legal department of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), shot him dead and took his body and left it by a road in the town.
On August 19, Mallam Tukur Mamu, a media consultant, and publisher of Nigerian newspaper The Desert Herald, reported that
a senior commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has stated his intention to forcibly “marry” Azurfa Lois John, 21, a third-year student at Kaduna State University who was abducted with others during an attack in March, MSN reports.
“This is to alert the federal government and especially the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that I can confirm through credible information at my disposal that if urgent action is not taken to immediately secure the release of the youngest victim of the train attack, 21-year-old Azurfa Lois John, the abductors as they have done in the case of Leah Sharibu are planning to marry her any moment from now,” Mamu wrote. Christian school girl Leah Sharibu was abducted by Boko Haram terrorists in 2018; she remains in captivity reportedly because she refused to deny her faith in Christ.
On August 21, Fulani terrorists abducted four Roman Catholic nuns who were traveling to the Okigwe-Umulolo area, Rev. Sister Zita Ihedoro, secretary-general of the Sisters of Jesus the Savior, attested in a press statement.
Commenting on the ceaseless violence against Christians in Nigeria, Emmanuel Onwubiko, national coordinator of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), said Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and his government have failed to protect believers. “It is worrisome that despite the killing of over 12 Catholic priests in 2022 and the abduction of scores of Catholic priests all over the country, the present regime, and security agencies have left the ugly trend to continue,” Onwubiko said in a statement.
Nigeria ranked number one in the world last year both for the number of Christians killed and for those who were kidnapped by Islamic terrorists.