Boko Haram is an extremist, Islamic, terrorist organization based in northeastern Nigeria. The group aims to impose Sharia on the northern parts of the country. This is a considerable attack to religious freedom.

Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria have killed at least 223 civilians since April, though the actual figure may be higher, as some attacks have gone unreported. Between May and August, seven times more civilians were killed than in the preceding four months, while 100 civilians were killed in August alone. The Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009, when the jihadist rebel group started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria.

The deadliest recent attack came on July 25, when an armed group shot dead 40 people and abducted three others in an ambush on an oil exploration team in the Magumeri area of Borno state.

Boko Haram suicide bombers have killed at least 81 people in Nigeria since April, while 67 people have been abducted - mostly women and girls - since the start of the year.

There have been two reports of raids on villages in August, in which Boko Haram fighters rounded up and shot civilians, burned down homes and stole from people's houses, shops and markets.

In neighbouring Cameroon, at least 158 people were also killed by the terror group within the same period.

The attacks have continued despite the efforts by the Nigerian military and its neighbouring partners to combat the terror group, whose activities have caused about 100,000 deaths since 2009.

In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped close to 300 girls in Chibok, a government school in Nigeria. They then forced these girls to convert to Islam, raped them, and forced them in to early marriages. Some of these girls have been used as suicide bombers in the recent attacks, despite the outcry for their release from the terror group.

Freedom of movement and religion in Nigeria has been curtailed because of the general fear brought about by the militant activism of Boko Haram. Major security challenges have arisen, and there are other individuals and groups that have taken advantage of the situation. Kidnappings, murders, robberies and other incidents are being undertaken by common criminals. Confrontations between security forces and insurgents have resulted in a high rate of casualties

Please sign this petition asking the Nigerian government to defend Christians in the country and stop the rising of the insurgent group Boko Haram.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_violence_in_Nigeria

http://allafrica.com/stories/201709050054.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chibok_schoolgirls_kidnapping

http://nigerianoracle.com/boko-haram-attacks-kill-223-in-north-east-nigeria-since-april-amnesty/