EDE, Netherlands — Recent violent outbreaks in Nigeria led the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) to pause during its General Council meeting in Ede, Netherlands, to offer prayer for the most populous country in Africa.
More than 800 people were reportedly killed during the latest round of religious sectarian violence July 26–29 in several states across the northeast of the West African nation. The violence was the result of a conflict between Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group, and Nigerian security forces.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in sectarian clashes in Nigeria since 1999, often in the so-called Middle Belt, where the predominantly Muslim north meets the Christian south.
Solomon Ademola Ishola, general secretary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), requested prayer on behalf of his country during the meeting of the General Council, which convened during the BWA Annual Gathering July 27–Aug. 1. Paul Msiza, president of the All Africa Baptist Fellowship, offered prayer.
Nigeria, with a population of almost 150 million, has one of the largest Baptist constituencies in the world, with two member bodies in Nigeria — the NBC with approximately 2.5 million members and the Mambilla Baptist Convention with almost 23,000 members.
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