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Nigeria

She was killed before my very eyes

19 Jul 2016

It was an ordinary afternoon for Mrs Bridget Agbahime. The 74-year-old pastor’s wife was running her shop in Kofar Wambai market, as she had ever since she retired from her job at the Union Bank. 

But this ordinary afternoon would end in tragedy- just hours later Mrs Agbahime would be beaten to death by an angry mob.

You see, another regular feature of Mrs Agbahime’s day was the arrival of a man named Dauda, who ran a shop nearby. Dauda had been harassing her for a long time, and would often perform his pre-prayer ablutions at the door of her shop, damaging her goods.  He continued to bother her, despite several official warnings. On 2 June, when she politely asked him to move away from the door, Dauda started shouting that she had committed blasphemy.

“She was peace-loving…killed because of envy over a shop”

What happened next was as tragic as it was shocking: a mob of more than 500 people gathered and, though another Muslim trader tried to hide Mrs Agbahime and her husband inside his shop, they assaulted him, broke in and beat her to death in front of her husband. He was saved by the arrival of the police, and has returned to his ancestral home in Imo State, southern Nigeria, to ensure his own safety.

A local lawyer who knew the couple well told CSW Nigeria, “The allegation of blasphemy levelled against her is a pure lie. I have been in Kano since 1983 and met her and her husband here in Deeper Life Bible Church. I worked under them as a group pastor for years. She was the Women’s Leader in the church for many years. She was known to be quiet, not talkative and peace loving. She was killed because of envy over a shop.”

Worsening situation for Christians in Sharia states

Mrs Agbahime is the second Christian in northern Nigeria to be killed by a mob this year following allegations of blasphemy. In May, violence erupted in Pandogari Town, Niger State after Emmanuel Methodus, a trader, was accused of a blasphemous posting on Facebook. Emmanuel was murdered and his body burned.  In the riot that followed, three other people were also killed, 25 Christian-owned shops were looted, and four churches were destroyed along with several Christian homes.  

In another indication of a possible rise in religious extremism, Francis Emmanuel, a 41-year-old Christian carpenter, was slapped and stabbed by a group of young men in Kaduna State for eating during the Ramadan fast.

The situation for Christians in Shari’a states is worrying. In June information emerged that 466 Christians had been murdered by Boko Haram in a single day in three villages in the Gwoza area for refusing to convert. They were part of a group of 3,000 families who had believed assurances four months earlier that it was safe to return to their homes. In addition, 218 women and girls aged between 15 and 30 were forcibly “married”, and 1,000 people taken hostage, 192 of whom died of starvation. Attacks by armed Fulani herders, as well as abductions of underage girls in Shari’a states have become everyday realities for too many of Nigeria’s people. 

CSW-Nigeria pioneering inter-faith work

But CSW, in partnership with CSW-Nigeria, continues to fight for religious freedom despite the challenges. Recently, CSW-Nigeria a met with the Emir of Kano state – one of the foremost religious and traditional Muslim leaders – an amazing opportunity to discuss religious co-existence and to raise problems that Christian communities in the area are experiencing. They have also pioneered interfaith and peacebuilding initiatives, as well as working to support survivors of violence. 

Christians in Nigeria are under pressure: but we are making sure that their voice is heard.

  • You can help bolster our work in Nigeria by making a gift to our work, using the enclosed form. 
  • Join us in praying for Nigeria using our prayer diary here.



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We believe no one should suffer discrimination, harassment or persecution because of their beliefs