Country in focus: Nigeria

“May our cry be heard by whomsoever you talk to…”

There is a crisis in central Nigeria. Hundreds of Christians have been killed by Fulani militia. Men, women and children are being murdered, their land taken away and their homes destroyed.

These are just a few of the stories from Nehemiah Camp, a church-run camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to which many people have fled. But CSW-Nigeria is planning to give these refugees a future. Soon they’ll start holding skills training for widows in the camp, enabling them to start small businesses and provide for themselves.

LAITU

Laitu has lost her husband and her home. Her village was attacked in February: she still remembers the flames rising from the remains of houses that were looted, then burned. Crops and farmlands were also destroyed. Over 15 people were killed in the attack, including her husband, who was trying to protect the village.

She must now raise her five children on her own: 16-year-old Amos, 13-year-old Goodness, ten-year-old Emmanuel, five-year-old Saviour, and Joshua (pictured), who is just six months.

FARA’A PIUS

“We were preparing for Christmas, when at around 5pm we heard gunshots. They [the Fulani militia] had invaded and we were surrounded. Some managed to escape while others were killed. We lost 12 people that day.” Fara’a Pius’ farm was totally destroyed. She told us, “May our cry be heard by whomsoever you talk with.”

NEHEMIAH CAMP

Nehemiah Camp currently assists 461 households. This includes 215 children under the age of five, 106 nursing mothers, 67 widows, and 150 teenagers, many of whom are the de facto heads of households: one orphan has become the ‘father’ of his family at age 17.

Nehemiah Camp aims to provide basic relief for refugees including food: when they started, two communal meals a day were served. Now they struggle to provide even one.

You can write a letter to the governor of Kaduna State, one of the worst affected areas, asking him to defend the survivors and bring the perpetrators to justice. Stand with Nigeria at www.csw.org.uk/nigeria-action