Nigeria - Country profile

On Christmas Day 2011, 44 people were killed and more than 80 others were injured when extremists targeted Mass-goers at St Theresa's Catholic Church in Madalla, near the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

The attack was one of many that day but its ferocity and high death toll meant that it came to be seen as a watershed moment in an emerging security crisis. A problem concerning extremist attacks was now a national crisis with the potential to cause a Christian exodus from parts of the country.

In the months that followed, rarely a week went by without Christians being targeted at Sunday services. Those responsible also targeted markets, banks, police, government buildings and schools, but the Church bore the brunt of the violence. The perpetrators, Boko Haram, a Jihadist Islamist group with links to Al Qaeda, had made their objectives clear: to replace secular government with an Islamic system centred on Shari'a law.

Listen to Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama's talk at our 2012 Westminster Event

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Nigeria is no stranger to religious, ethnic and social tension and violence. Boko Haram (which translates as 'Western education is forbidden') has roots dating back as far as 2001 and the Islamist group's attacks grew in number and intensity over the course of the next decade.

It is against this backdrop that the Church in the most populous country in Africa has grown exponentially. The country boasts more than 5,000 seminarians – the most of any country on the continent.

That vote of confidence for the future of the Church is now facing its greatest test. Although Christians in the period under review faced particular harassment in the Muslim-dominated north, where Shari'a is practised, violence also broke out elsewhere.

The precise cause of the tensions between Muslims and Christians is intricate. The US State Department's report on religious freedom concluded: "Violence between Christian and Muslim communities increased in several regions arising from complex factors including economic disparity, ethnic identity and seasonal migration patterns." (Source: US State Department: July – December 2010 International Religious Freedom Report 13/9/11). Catholic bishops often went further, arguing that apparent religious tensions concealed root causes in ethnic and social problems.

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"A war on Christians"

Whatever the precise causes, by 2012 it was becoming clear that Christians were under direct threat. Boko Haram was warning that it was about to wage a "war on Christians". Christians were fleeing en masse from parts of the north-east including Maiduguri.

Any hope that the state of emergency declared by President Goodluck Jonathan in January 2012 would restore law and order was left in tatters as Boko Haram stepped up its campaign of terror. In March 2012, a Boko Haram spokesman declared that a campaign was underway in effect to eradicate Christians from parts of the north. The spokesman declared: "We will create so much effort to have an Islamic state that Christians will not be able to stay."

Reports indicated that the tensions were being exacerbated by so-called revenge or retaliation attacks. Calling for calm but stating a determination not to be cowed by acts of aggression, bishops in Nigeria rallied the faithful with statements calling for prayer and the pursuit of justice by peaceful means.

In the Archdiocese of Jos, in the north-east, one of the areas worst affected by the violence, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama told Aid to the Church in Need: "When I visit the people, I see the injustice they suffer... We must not look at the suffering as a sign that God has condemned us. Rather, it is a challenge and sets us on the road to unity with him."

With no sign of an end to the attacks, there are growing concerns about the security services' capacity to enforce the rule of law. In late April 2012, Archbishop Kaigama was joined by Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja in denouncing the governments attempts to deal with the extremists, saying the authorities were "weak".

"The rampant attacks show that government security is not working," said Archbishop Kaigama. "The government is not able to cope with the security situation and we feel quite apprehensive as a result."

Archbishop Onaiyekan added: "[The government] have had adequate time to learn how to deal with this situation, gathering intelligence about those directly involved and bring them to book.

"It has become clear that we have a weak government..." 

In the meantime, the fate of many Christian communities, especially in the north, hangs in the balance.

Key projects

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  Promoting inter-religious dialogue

  Breaking down barriers between people of different faiths is a priority for the Church in Nigeria. In parts of the country, meaningful dialogue is fraught with difficulties, however, elsewhere, thanks to you, initiatives promoting inter-faith tolerance are now underway. Read more

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  A Bible study programme for young Christians

  In Oyo diocese, Nigeria, more than 400 young Christians have spent their weekends focusing on the Bible with lectures, discussions, film and drama. The course director Fr Michael Oyedare said it has helped the teenagers “live a life of witness”. Read more

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  Repairing churches damaged in extremist attacks

  Following urgent pleas from parish communities, your generosity is helping to repair three bomb-damaged churches in northern Nigeria, including St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, where 44 people were killed on Christmas Day 2011.  Read more

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  Training Nigeria’s priests of the future

  Nigeria has more seminarians than any other country in Africa. Your generosity is supporting many of them; including 50 in Jos, Central Belt. They wrote saying: “Our personal goal is that we will be solid, happy and joyful priests. This becomes the work of a lifetime.” Read  more

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  Helping the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Mercy

  The Daughters of Mary, Mother of Mercy are celebrating the order’s 50th birthday and, thanks to your generosity, they will be provided with a van that will help them reach out to the most disadvantaged people in some of the remotest regions across west Nigeria. Read more

   

Last updated: 23/10/2012