Twenty-six testimonies from Christians persecuted by Islamic extremism are presented in the report titled Nigeria: A Bleeding Wound made by the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). The stark stories were collected in the Nigerian cities of Maiduguri, Makurdi and Owo.
The pontifical foundation points out that, because the different reports on violence in the country have variable figures that are difficult to verify, they chose to “put a face and a voice on the many brothers and sisters in the faith who have been victims.”
These stories of dozens of widows, orphans, the elderly, young people, children and priests, the foundation specifies, “are unthinkable, but true.”
The Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group Boko Haram has attacked, kidnapped and murdered Christians for more than 20 years. The same has been done by the jihadist faction West African Province of the Islamic State (ISWAP) since 2015.