Nigeria: calm returns to Jos after eruption of violence that threatened the nation

Nigeria: calm returns to Jos after eruption of violence that threatened the nation
A sense of normality has returned to the city of Jos, in Nigeria’s central Plateau State, after an eruption of inter-religious violence claimed at least three lives on 14 September. One of them was Jerry Binkur, a final-year student at the University of Jos, who was a member of the . . . Read More

Nigeria considers giving Islamic appeals courts authority to take criminal cases

Nigeria considers giving Islamic appeals courts authority to take criminal cases
A Sharia court in northern Nigeria.Courtesy of Open Doors   The situation Nigeria’s National Assembly is considering a change to the country’s constitution that would expand the scope of jurisdiction of the country’s Islamic Sharia courts of appeal. Currently, the constitution limits those appellate courts to matters concerning family law. . . . Read More

Boko Haram headlines hide persecution of Christians in mid-Nigeria, too

Boko Haram headlines hide persecution of Christians in mid-Nigeria, too
The whole world has heard of the Chibok abduction: the 276 girls, predominantly Christians, kidnapped by Boko Haram in northern Nigeria in April 2014. There are 220 still missing. But the publicity surrounding this serves to hide a more widespread persecution of Christians in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. Nigeria . . . Read More

Nigerians, fearing election violence, forfeit vote to move to other end of country

Nigerians, fearing election violence, forfeit vote to move to other end of country
Ahead of Nigeria’s general elections on 28 March, hundreds of people, fearful of election violence, have fled back to their place of origin, World Watch Monitor has been told. The election was originally scheduled for 14 February, before being postponed to the March date for security reasons. Take for example . . . Read More

Former Nigerian Governor allows ‘under-age’ marriage loophole into Constitution

Former Nigerian Governor allows ‘under-age’ marriage loophole into Constitution
The first Governor to introduce sharia law into a Nigerian State (Zamfara, in 2000), now a Senator, has succeeded in stopping the removal of a clause from Nigeria’s Constitution, which critics say remains a loophole through which marriage of under-age girls remains possible under sharia law. It happened during the . . . Read More