The Crisis in Northern Nigeria
Perhaps you heard about the kidnapping of 276 Chibok school girls in April of 2014, or that the US has finally selected the term 'genocide' to describe what is occurring in this region to certain groups. We are grateful that you are taking some time to find out more. The problem is urgent and the needs are staggering.
3.3 million Nigerians - more people than live in Chicago or Denver - have fled their towns and communities; some have fled in the middle of the night in only their pajamas. What would cause so many to leave their homes?
A terrorist group called Boko Haram, which has allied itself with ISIS, has been murdering unarmed citizens if they do not pledge allegiance to their radical form of Islam. The attacks started in 2009 but have escalated since, and especially in the last two years.
In addition to the attacks by Boko Haram, another group, Fulani militants, has risen up with the same agenda as ISIS and Boko Haram, and have made it their pledge to eradicate certain religious groups in central Nigeria. They have destroyed complete communities, burned the fields of farmers there, and have slaughtered (a term that is quite apt) countless men, women and children without conscience.