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Nigeria: Seven Christian women kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to Muslims in March and April

May 18, 2020

Persecution of Christians in Nigeria: the kidnapping and forced marriage of girls from Christian families in Nigeria, as we have seen also in Pakistan, is not new; it is a sadly recurring phenomenon, such that women all over the country are continually at risk of kidnapping from the Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram terrorist group, both of which prey on the Christian community. Nigeria’s Orthodox Christian community is as vulnerable to this persecution as are the rest of the nation’s Christians. This abuse cries out for attention from international human rights organizations. Please continue to pray that the Christian community in Nigeria will be able to endure this martyrdom and experience a resurrection, and that relief will soon come to this courageous and long-suffering Christian community.

For previous coverage of the persecution of Christians in Nigeria from ChristianPersecution.com, see here.

“Seven Women Kidnapped, Forcefully Married in Nigeria in March and April,” International Christian Concern, May 15, 2020:

05/15/2020 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – According to the Hausa Christians Foundation (HACFO), 6 young women and one older married lady were kidnapped, forcefully converted to Islam, and married off to Muslim men between March 23rd and April 30th. According to the group, 5 girls were kidnapped in Kaduna State, 1 in Kano Satte, and the already married lady was taken from Katsina State.

“We are saddened to report to you the battles we have been fighting even amidst the lockdown. The Hausa Christians Foundation (HACFO) has been working on the following tragic incidences of abduction and forceful Islamization, despite the fact that the lockdown has limited our efforts:

a) 5 Christian Girls abducted and Islamized in Kaduna State, two rescued and three still in captivity.
b) 1 Girl abducted and Islamized in Kano State
c) 1 Married woman a mother of two was abducted in Katsina State, her Christian marriage nullified by the Muslims and is now Islamized and about to be married to a Muslim.

The Hausa Christians Foundation (HACFO) has been working for the release of these 6 Hausa Christian Girls and One Married woman even amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown. We have been putting so much effort but having very little results. We are grateful to God that 2 of the 6 girls have been rescued, but our heart aches for the remaining 4 girls and the 1 married woman knowing fully well that their lives will be in danger. The usual practice is that these girls will be forced into marriage and perpetually be abused sexually, physical and emotionally,” said the group in the press release.

These kind of abductions and forced marriages are becoming more common. ICC has partnered with groups in Nigeria to rescue several girls who were taken in the past year. Often these girls tell of being grabbed or drugged by men. They often then remember waking up in a room with an Islamic woman teaching them Arabic and the Quran. When parents try to interfere and rescue their children, they are met with resistance and threats by the community, police and judges, especially in the twelve Northern States where Sharia Law is legal….