West Africa
Nigeria, country located on the western coast of Africa. Nigeria has a diverse geography, with climates ranging from arid to humid equatorial. However, Nigeria’s most diverse feature is its people. Hundreds of languages are spoken in the country, including Yoruba, Igbo, Fula, Hausa, Edo, Ibibio, Tiv, and English. The country has abundant natural resources, notably large deposits of petroleum and natural gas.
Population: 222,182,000
Main Religion: Christianity and Islam
Christians: 102,988,000, 46.4%
The national capital is Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory, which was created by decree in 1976. Lagos, the former capital, retains its standing as the country’s leading commercial and industrial city.
Modern Nigeria dates from 1914, when the British Protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria were joined. The country became independent on October 1, 1960, and in 1963 adopted a republican constitution but elected to stay a member of the Commonwealth. (Brittanica)
Emergency Relief support (food, clothing, blankets, diapers, sanitary towels, first aid care and medical support) for displaced believers in northern Nigeria along with nuanced trauma care to survivors of targeted violence.
Having gained independence from Britain in 1960, Nigeria’s democratic transition did not occur until 1999, when 16 years of military rule ended. Buhari, from All Progressives Congress (APC) became president in 2015 and was controversially re-elected in February 2019, amid electoral violence and arbitrary rules made by the Electoral Commission in support of President Buhari.
Nigeria has the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. However, poverty is widespread and 40% of the population live below the poverty line. Northern Nigeria is severely under-developed compared to the south. Corruption is rampant and a point of contention is the distribution of revenues received from oil.
18% of girls are married before their 15th birthday. The Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act of 2015 is Nigeria’s first criminal legislation that recognizes a broad spectrum of violence particularly against women and girls but is yet to be adopted by several Sharia-run northern states. (PWAN 2022). Domestic violence within marriages is widespread; in the Islamic northern region, husbands are permitted to discipline their wives so long as no ‘grievous’ bodily harm is caused (CEDAW 2017).
Human rights violations are carried out by numerous groups. In the north, Boko Haram has carried out a systematic campaign against the Nigerian state, proclaiming an Islamic caliphate in Borno State in 2014. Boko Haram specifically targets Christians, abducting and killing males and abducting, raping and forcibly marrying females as part of the mission to depopulate Christian-dominated territories. Boko Haram leader Shekau died in May 2021 but that has not diminished any activities. Similar violence is carried out by ISWAP, who also pledge allegiance to Islamic State. Fulani militants attack predominantly Christian villages in several northern states, abducting, raping and killing people, destroying buildings and harvests or occupying farmlands. The violence has rapidly expanded further south. Armed criminal groups are also responsible for violence in northern states where they rape, kill, kidnap and burn property. Nigeria is ranked 3rd on the list of countries most affected by terrorism (Global Terrorism Index 2020).
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has called for a formal inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity, in which she implicated not only non-state actors but also members of the Nigerian Security Forces (NSF). (USCIRF)
Southern Nigeria is predominantly Christian, while Northern Nigeria is predominantly Muslim. The religious divide partly coincides with the ethnic divide. The Hausa-Fulani in the north are predominantly Muslim, the Igbo in the south east are mainly Christian, while the Yoruba in the south west have both a significant Muslim and Christian population. Though according to its Constitution Nigeria is a secular state, for decades the northern ruling elite has discriminated against Christians in favour of Muslims. Since 1999, Sharia law has been established in 12 northern states.
There are many Christians in the north and many Muslims are living in the south. The combined total of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria is 93% of the population. The 6.7% Ethno-religionists are spread throughout the country. The Christian population in the six geopolitical zones (see: Map of Nigerian Geo-Political Zones)
According to the US State Department (IRFR 2022 Nigeria):
“There are Jewish communities in Abuja and Lagos led by the Chabad Lubavitch movement and comprised mostly of foreign residents. A larger community of Nigerian Jews – dividing themselves among Messianic, Sabbatarian, Community of Hashem, and Orthodox congregations – is present primarily in the South East and South South regions of the country.”
“On December 4 [2022], the Chabad Lubavitch movement officially opened its Ohel Penina facility in Abuja, which it called the ‘first synagogue in Nigeria’. Local Jews noted the presence of other synagogues in the country, however.”
“In its most recent detailed surveys in 2010 and 2012, Pew found 38 percent of Muslims self-identify as Sunni, most of whom belong to the Maliki school of jurisprudence, although a sizable minority follows the Shafi’i school of fiqh. This corresponds to the 37 percent of Muslims who identify either with Sufism, of which the largest brotherhoods are the Tijaniyyah (19 percent) and Qadriyyah (9 percent), or Salafism, known in the country as Izala. The same studies found 12 percent of Muslims self-identify as Shia, with the remainder declining to answer or identifying as ‘something else’ (5 percent) or ‘just a Muslim’ (42 percent). There are also small numbers of Mouride Sufis, as well as Ahmadiyya and Kala Kato (Quraniyoon) Muslims.”
“Ahmadi Muslims maintain a small presence in several cities, including Lagos and Abuja.”
“The Shia Muslim presence is heavily concentrated in the North West region.”
Togo
