NIGERIA – CHRISTIANS SUFFER UNDER BOKO HARAM CALIPHATE

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Continue to pray for Christians in Nigeria who are suffering at the hands of Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Boko Haram recently attacked the Christian-majority communities of Shaffa and Shindiffu in Borno state, killing at least 20 people. A pastor was among those killed, and ten churches were burned down. This attack followed the capture by Boko Haram of a mainly Christian town in Adamawa state, which the group seized in an attempt to increase the territory it holds in the country’s North. It is unclear how many people were killed when the militants raided Michika, and nearby Bazza, on 8 September. A month earlier, at least 100 Christians were slaughtered, and two churches destroyed, by Boko Haram in an attack on the predominantly Christian city of Gwoza in Borno state. After Gwoza was seized on 6 August, Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, declared that it was now “part of the Islamic caliphate”. Other towns in the north-east of the state have also been seized. Men over the age of 18 in the territory are being shot, and Christian women have been forced to convert on pain of death. Sharia law has been imposed on the seized territory. The black, Islamist flag was raised over Gwoza in an act mirroring that of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Intelligence agencies are concerned that ISIS has offered Boko Haram advice on strategy and tactics. Islamist violence in border areas is also spilling over into Cameroon, where Nigerian Christian refugees and others are being affected. Pray for those Christians in Nigeria who are living under the oppression of Boko Haram; that the God of all comfort will give them peace in this time of affliction (2 Corinthians 1:3). Ask that He will protect His people and provide for the material needs of those who have been forced to flee their homes. Barnabas Fund.