Pope Francis Prays For Christian In Nigeria After Report Says 600 Christians Has Been Killed In 2020 So Far

Vatican Leader, Pope Francis prayed Saturday for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Mother of Hope,” for Nigeria’s persecuted Christians 

In his Angelus address, he said, “Today I would like to pray in particular for the population of the northern region of Nigeria, victims of violence and terrorist attacks”.

More than 600 Christians in Nigeria have been killed in 2020 so far, according to a report on May 15 by the Nigerian human rights organization, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety). The same report found that up to 12,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since June 2015.

Christians in Nigeria have been beheaded and set on fire, farms set ablaze, and priests and seminarians have been targeted for kidnapping and ransom.

In July, members of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) posted a video of the execution of five kidnapped Christian aid workers. ISWAP is a breakaway faction of Boko Haram, another Islamic extremist terrorist group in Nigeria.

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, Nigeria told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that the systematic violence could constitute genocide, adding that many Muslims have also been victims of violence.

Bishop Kukah in an interview said, “The inefficiency of the military has made the terrorists bolder and there are also issues of the complicity of the various levels of the military,”

He added, “We hear promises from the United States and Europe and they all come to nothing”.

Pope Francis expressed his views in the killings of Christians in Nigeria by calling on the Leaders of Nigeria, Africa and the World to intervene and make every place in the world a safe place for Christians.