Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

PRAY: Christian Woman Reportedly Murdered by Militants While Cleaning Her Church in Nigeria

People gather at the scene of an explosion in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Thursday Dec. 23, 2021. An unconfirmed number of persons were killed on Thursday by bomb explosions carried out by extremist rebels in northeast Nigeria, according to witnesses. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola)
Share Tweet
By Billy Hallowell
Editor

August 31, 2022

A Christian woman in Nigeria was reportedly murdered over the weekend while cleaning her church — an act of violence that is making international headlines.

Listen to the latest episode of CBN’s Quick Start podcast 👇

Lyop Dalyop was purportedly sweeping and cleaning Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) on Aug. 27 in the Plateau state, when she was shot and killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen, members of a predominately Muslim group known to target Christians.

Dalyop was ambushed inside the church by the armed men, according to Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, an attorney who directs the Emancipation Centre for Crisis Victims in Nigeria.

“The incident occurred at about 8:05 p.m., shortly after she had gone to sweep the COCIN Church, Bangai, in preparation for Sunday morning worship service,” Mwantiri told Morning Star News. “The armed Fulani men shot her in the head.”

According to Open Doors USA, the Hausa-Fulani Muslim Herdsman comprises about 38 million people who speak various languages and are nomadic. Members of the group have varying degrees of adherence to Islam. Find out more about the Fulani:

Tragically, stories like this are nothing new in Nigeria, as persecution and extremism have raged in various parts of the country. As CBN’s Faithwire reported in July, a Nigerian pastor and his sons were attacked in the Adamawa state, an area known for Islamic extremism.

The Rev. Daniel Umaru was shot July 5, with his two sons — Kefrey Daniel, 19, and Fanye Daniel, 23 — reportedly dying during the horrific attack.

The assailants allegedly stormed the family’s home at 2 a.m. Umaru’s daughter, Ijagla, 13, was also kidnapped during the incursion and was released three days later after a ransom was paid, Morning Star News reported.

The preacher, who survived the ordeal after being left for dead, was hospitalized.

In a separate incident July 15, two Catholic priests were abducted, and one of those men was tragically murdered. Fathers John Mark Cheitnum and Denatus Cleopas were reportedly kidnapped from Christ the King Catholic Church by unknown assailants, according to International Christian Concern. While Cleopas escaped his captors, Mark was killed.

Violence in Nigeria broke through the international news cycle in May, when Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a 25-year-old Christian college student, was reportedly stoned to death by a Muslim mob.

Yakubu, a Shehu Shagari College of Education student in Sokoto, Nigeria, was brutally murdered May 12, and the violent attack was purportedly filmed and shared on social media.

“We have videos, we have photos which I’ve seen, unfortunately,” Joel Veldkamp, head of international communications at persecution watchdog Christian Solidarity International (CSI), told CBN’s Faithwire earlier this year.

She was killed over comments purportedly made on WhatsApp, a messaging app.

“She was in a WhatsApp group that was dedicated to studies at her school,” Veldkamp explained. “Someone asked her in this group how she got such a good score on a test, and she replied, ‘Jesus.’”

This reportedly angered Muslims in the group, who negatively reacted. Yakubu then purportedly left a voice message saying the Holy Spirit would protect her and that the WhatsApp group’s purpose was for schooling, not “religious nonsense,” as Veldkamp explained. She was subsequently murdered.

Additionally, an attack on a church on Pentecost Sunday in Nigeria in early June killed at least 50 people, with militants using guns and bombs.

Despite Christianity being vibrant in many parts of the country, Nigeria’s northern region has experienced an uptick in extremist attacks against believers.

As Faithwire previously reported, Open Doors USA’s 2022 World Watch List ranks Nigeria the seventh most dangerous place in the world to live as a Christian.

Pray for the community and loved ones mourning Dalyop’s death, and for peace more broadly in Nigeria.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.*** 

Latest

  • Entertainment

    ‘The Chosen’ Begins Filming Season 4, Series to Be Translated into 600 Languages: ‘We’re Back’

  • Faith

    Weatherman Reveals Why He Prayed to Jesus On-Air as Deadly Tornado Hit: ‘God Helps People’

  • News

    ‘I Am Beyond Grateful’: Liberty University Names New President in Wake of Jerry Falwell Scandal

  • Faith

    EXCLUSIVE: Famous Activist Prays For Mass ‘Exodus’ of Clinic Workers With Launch of Powerful Good Friday Campaign

  • News

    Actor Mark Wahlberg Reveals Why He Moved Family Out of Hollywood: ‘It’s Really Giving the Kids a Chance to Thrive’


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • ‘The Chosen’ Begins Filming Season 4, Series to Be Translated into 600 Languages: ‘We’re Back’
  • Weatherman Reveals Why He Prayed to Jesus On-Air as Deadly Tornado Hit: ‘God Helps People’
  • ‘I Am Beyond Grateful’: Liberty University Names New President in Wake of Jerry Falwell Scandal
  • EXCLUSIVE: Famous Activist Prays For Mass ‘Exodus’ of Clinic Workers With Launch of Powerful Good Friday Campaign
  • Actor Mark Wahlberg Reveals Why He Moved Family Out of Hollywood: ‘It’s Really Giving the Kids a Chance to Thrive’

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?