Islamist terrorists in Nigeria are thought to have killed a prominent Christian leader in the northern reaches of the country after the country's president recently declared a state of emergency.

"Suspected Islamic militants have killed a Christian leader in north-eastern Nigeria shortly after the president declared a state of emergency in the region to tackle insurgents and terrorists' threatening Africa's most populous nation," BosNewsLife reported.

Two suspected members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram shot Faye Pama Mysa, a Pentecostal pastor and secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state of Borno while he was in his home on Wednesday. more >>

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three north-eastern states of the African country after Islamic extremists took control of a number of villages and towns.

"It would appear that there is a systematic effort by insurgents and terrorists to destabilize the Nigerian state and test our collective resolve," Jonathan said, according to The Associated Press.

Army troops have been ordered to the affected states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, while politicians have been told to remain at their posts. The announcement was made across Nigeria's radio and television networks, with the president warning that any buildings believed to be housing Islamic extremists would be "torn down." more >>

At least 10 people were killed and nine others were injured on Sunday when gunmen attacked a church and a village market in Adamawa state in northern Nigeria before fleeing across the border to Cameroon.

Four people were killed around the church and six were killed in the market in the Njilan village near the Cameroon border, Reuters quoted Adamawa state police spokesman Muhammad Ibrahim as saying. Nine others were injured and were in the hospital for treatment on Monday.

While the official said the motive for the attack was not known, the area is a stronghold of the Islamist group Boko Haram, which translates as "Western education is sin." more >>

A Nigerian man was charged on Friday for the 2011 Christmas Day bombing of a Roman Catholic Church in Madalla, on the outskirts of Abuja, which killed 37 people and wounded 57 others.

Kabiru Sokoto was arrested in January 2012, but managed to escape a day later, before being captured by authorities again, Reuters reported. Justice Adeniyi Ademola has charged him with terrorism, to which the man has pleaded not guilty.

The Daily Post, a Nigerian publication, says that Sokoto allegedly has links to the Boko Haram terrorist organization, which claims responsibility for the bombing of St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla. The faction has slaughtered close to 3,000 people in bombings and shootings of churches and government buildings in the last few years in Nigeria. more >>

Boko Haram, the Islamic terrorist organization that has targeted Christians and killed close to 3,000 people in the past few years in Nigeria, has not only rejected the government's offer of amnesty, but said the government should be the one begging for a pardon.

"Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you [a] pardon," Abubakar Shekau, the group's leader, said in Hausa language audio recordings, according to AFP News agency.

Boko Haram explained that the numerous bombings and mass shootings it carried out against churches and government buildings in the last few years are part of its mission to drive out Christians from Nigeria. The African country is divided by both geographical and religion lines, with most Christians concentrated in the South and Muslims in the North. more >>

In Mubi in northeastern Nigeria, Christians do not dare step out of their homes after 8 p.m., church leaders say. And many Christians are too afraid of Islamic extremist attacks to attend church services.

This month suspected members of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram killed eight members of a Church of the Brethren (Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria, or EYN) congregation outside Mubi, among others – the latest in a series of attacks in or near the town in Adamawa state bordering Cameroon.

"The crisis has created a lot of hardship for Christians, as even movement to eke out a living is restricted," said the Rev. Daniel Yumuna, a district secretary of the EYN. "Businesses of our church members have all collapsed because they face attacks regularly, and living generally has been made very difficult here not only for our church members but for all other Christians in this part of the country." more >>