Source:

13 Churches in Jigawa State burnt down [ID 15093]

20.06.2008 - Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Kano State: State empoyees demolish Catholic Church ("State employees demolish Catholic Church") [ID 23681]

Document(s): Open document

04.03.2008 - Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Kano State: Evangelical church looted and demolished ("Church looted and demolished in Kano State") [ID 22657]

Document(s): Open document

14.09.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Christians in the predominantly Muslim northern states complain about restrictions in the establishment of new churches ("International Religious Freedom Report 2007") [ID 21299]

"Christians in the predominantly Muslim northern states continued to allege that local government officials used zoning regulations to stop or slow the establishment of new churches."

Document(s): Open document

15.09.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Bauchi State: In February students reportedly threatened a Christian teacher for handling the Qur'an; in a subsequent demonstration 2 churches were burned, 20 Christians killed ("International Religious Freedom Report 2006") [ID 17813]

"Also in February students at a secondary school in Bauchi Sate reportedly threatened a Christian teacher for handling the Qur'an, and in a subsequent demonstration that turned violent, two churches were burned and approximately twenty Christians were killed. The teacher came in contact with a copy of the Qur'an while taking it from a student who was reading it while class was in session. While approximately twenty-five arrests were believed to have been made, the case was being handled as a state security matter with little information publicly available. Some of the defendants may have been taken to Jos and were believed to have been granted bail, and some of the defendants were believed to have been taken to Abuja. Christian religious leaders in Bauchi were unable to make contact with the teacher, Florence Chuckwu."

Document(s): Open document

15.09.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Sokoto: Christian student threatened after making pejorative remarks about Islam; school was closed for some weeks; she had to leave town for her safety ("International Religious Freedom Report 2006") [ID 17814]

"A Christian female student from a nursing school in Sokoto was threatened after she was accused of having made inappropriate remarks about Islam. The school was closed for a few weeks for security reasons. A police investigation did not locate the perpetrators. The case arose when the student's Christian mother converted to Islam and married a Muslim man. The student refused to convert, and her fellow students asked her why she had not done so while using inflammatory language denigrating Jesus Christ. The student responded with inflammatory language denigrating the Prophet Muhammad, and a riot ensued. She was spirited away from the scene by a Muslim instructor who, according to credible reports, later faced reprisals for helping. The student was given refuge at the local police station. Shortly before a crowd threatened the station, she was moved to a different town and then to another state for her safety. She reportedly planned to attend school elsewhere."

Document(s): Open document

15.09.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Bauchi State: In December 2004 Muslim students killed the head of a Christian campus organisation in retaliation for insults to Islam ("International Religious Freedom Report 2006") [ID 17815]

"In December 2004 at a major university in Bauchi state, a group of Muslim students abducted and killed the head of a Christian campus organization in retaliation for what they considered to be insults to Islam by Christian students. To alleviate tensions and escalating violence against property, authorities closed the university and another nearby school, but both later reopened after an interfaith dialogue had been established. No arrests or prosecutions in the case were reported."

Document(s): Open document

07.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Christian minorities in Muslim-majority states say they face discrimination ("Countries at the Crossroads 2006") [ID 18313]

"The appropriate limits of self-determination of the states, however, are deeply disputed across the federation. The most notable problem has been the case of Christian minorities residing in Muslim-majority states who have argued that they face religious discrimination and persecution. The 12 state governments that have implemented the Sharia criminal code (in addition to the civil code that has been in force since 1979 in most Muslim-majority states) officially claim that most provisions of the code are not applied to Christians, who have recourse to the secular courts, but policies such as alcohol bans have universal effect. Moreover, the Hisbah militias have enforced their interpretations of the Sharia on Christians as well as Muslims, and instances of Hisbah-led violence against Christians in the Sharia states have been reported. Overall, however, rights abuses by the Hisbah appear to have declined since 2003.18"

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Muslim students abducted and killed the head of a Christian campus organisation ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17282]

"In December 2004 at a major university in Bauchi State, a group of Muslim students abducted and killed the head of a Christian campus organization in retaliation for what they considered to be insults to Islam by Christian students. As tensions grew and some property was vandalized, authorities responded by closing the university and a nearby polytechnic school and by establishing an interfaith dialogue. Both the university and the polytechnic school reopened during the year, and while tension remained between the campus Christian and Muslim communities, there was no further violence during the year. There were no arrests for the killing."

Document(s): Open document

13.05.2004 - Source: BBC News

Some 22,000 people have sought shelter in police stations in the northern city of Kano after two days of rioting by Muslim youths ("Thousands seek Nigeria sanctuary") [#22297],  [ID 15087]

Document(s): Open document

27.02.2004 - Source: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Query response on whether any leaders of the Kaduna State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) were arrested or targeted for arrest by the government following November 2002 riots in Kaduna; if so, the names of those targeted or arrested (November 2002-February 2004) ("Whether any leaders of the Kaduna State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) were arrested or targeted for arrest by the government following November 2002 riots in Kaduna; if so, the names of those targeted or arrested (November 2002-February 2004) [NGA42406.E]") [ID 24525]

Document(s): Open document

07.10.2002 - Source: US Department of State

Attacks by Moslim youth groups on Christians and on churches ("International Religious Freedom Report 2002") [#8895],  [ID 15099]

"There also were several incidents in which Muslim youths vandalized Christian churches. In June 2001, there were unconfirmed reports that Muslim youths set four churches on fire in Dutse, Jigawa State. In November 2001, Muslim youths reportedly vandalized eight churches in Osogbo, Osun State, and four churches in Ilorin, Kwara State; one person reportedly was killed in Osogbo.
In addition there were reports that in June 2002, extremist Islamic militants killed, injured, and displaced Christians in Jos, Berakin Ladi, Vom, and Miango. There also were reports that several churches were burned, shops and homes looted, and Christian property destroyed in Yelwa Shendam. One of the disputes appeared to have begun after a Muslim man proposed marriage to a Christian woman. The woman's brother beat her, and when her fiance intervened, a fight broke out. What began as a family dispute quickly spread to other parts of the community and took on ethno-religious overtones because of existing tensions between Christians and Muslims in the area."

Document(s): Open document

09.03.2002 - Source: Washington Post

Gunmen burst into a weekly prayer meeting in Nigeria, triggering a stampede by hundreds of worshippers that killed at least 12 people ("Stampede in Nigeria Kills 12") [#5915],  [ID 15103]

"Gunmen burst into a weekly prayer meeting in Nigeria, triggering a stampede by hundreds of worshippers that killed at least 12 people, police and witnesses said Saturday.
The gunmen, who left without wounding anyone, were apparently trying to capture or harm fiery Roman Catholic priest Ejike Mbaka, who was leading the prayer meeting on Thursday night, said diocese spokesman Rev. Evans Offor. The meeting had been organized by the Roman Catholic Church on the grounds of a technical college in the eastern city of Enugu. Rev. Obiora Ike, vicar general of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Enugu, said the gunmen broke into the open-air meeting just as it was ending. There were differing accounts of the number of dead. Ike said at least 14 people were killed, while police commissioner Idris Mohammed said at least 12 people were confirmed dead and authorities were investigating reports of two other deaths."

Document(s): Open document

16.01.2002 - Source: Human Rights Watch

In July and August, violence broke out between Christians and Muslims in Tafawa Balewa in Bauchi state, apparently in response to the introduction of Sharia there ("World report 2002") [#5281],  [ID 15102]

"In July and August, violence broke out between Christians and Muslims in Tafawa Balewa in Bauchi state, apparently in response to the introduction of Sharia there. In September, more than 1,000 people were estimated to have been killed in violence between Muslims and Christians in Jos, Plateau State; Human Rights Watch researchers who visited Jos in October gathered eyewitness testimony of the violence from both communities. In October, further violence erupted in the northern city of Kano following protests at the United States attacks on Afghanistan."

Document(s): Open document