Boko Haram investigated for 'crimes against humanity'

Cover photo courtesy of Pinterest/
Story photo courtesy of World Mission.

Nigeria (MNN) ― When the courts of a country fail to prosecute, the International Criminal Court (ICC) steps in.

ICC’s Chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, stated last Monday August 5 that Boko Haram is being investigated by ICC for “crimes against humanity” through “widespread and systematic attacks.”

Greg Kelly with World Mission says, “They’ve been targeting Christians especially. In the neighborhood of about 3,000 people have lost their lives as the direct result of their attacks since 2009. So they’re very aggressive, they definitely target Christians, and they primarily operate in Northern Nigeria.... They want to incorporate Sharia law among all of Northern Nigeria.”

World Mission has worked in Northern Nigeria for 12 years and have been personally impacted by Boko Haram’s attacks.

“We’ve lost leaders in that area,” says Kelly. “In fact, just a few months ago, one of our leaders...in Northeast Nigeria [was] participating in a prayer meeting, and Boko Haram people sort of invaded that area and executed 10 people, including our state national leader.”

It’s not safe to be a Christian in Northern Nigeria. When someone makes a decision to follow Christ, sometimes World Mission has to take protective action.

Kelly says, “In villages where hostilities are exaggerated,... it’s just not safe for someone who’s made a decision to follow Christ. Once they’re found, then they tend to disappear, and we never hear from them again. So that’s why we try and bring people out into a safe harbor, disciple them, mentor them, grow them in their understanding of who Jesus is, and then reintroduce them into either that village or another area where they can be effective.”

Because Boko Haram is so radical, they are difficult to engage, says Kelly. But God has called World Mission to reach northern Nigerians, including Boko Haram. “We’ve been distributing The Treasure--which is our solar-powered audio Bible--in the Hausa language, which is the language of the Boko Haram,” Kelly says. “So we do distributions and set up listening groups, and we’ve seen 20 people give their lives to Christ just in recent weeks.”

A high percentage of the population in Northern Nigeria learns orally. 9 times out of 10, they prefer The Treasure audio Bible to a written Bible. World Mission has a goal to distribute 500 Treasures to Northern Nigeria this year. On average, one Treasure touches the lives of 12 people. Over 50,000 people would be impacted by these 500 Treasures.

According to Kelly, “It takes $50 for us to distribute a Treasure. That unleashes our entire arsenal so to speak. We’re distributing a unit, paying the royalties, providing follow-up, providing leadership training.”

There’s also an opportunity to engage a community’s physical needs when World Mission passes out Treasure audio Bibles. “In many instances, especially in Northern Nigeria and places where there’s radicalization of Islam, we’ll do a water well or we’ll do a humanitarian expression which just softens the soil and makes the Treasure that much more impactful. So in Northern Nigeria, Boko Haram has created 240,000 refugees just in two states; there’s a real humanitarian crisis that’s really not spoken about,” says Kelly.

Pray for World Mission as they distribute Treasures to communities in Northern Nigeria. Pray for safety and for many Muslims to come to Christ.

Kidnapped lawyer still missing

China (MNN) ― Last Monday, August 15, marked the fifth year since Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng was first kidnapped and tortured by Chinese officials. It has been over a year since his last kidnapping took Gao off the face of the map.

ChinaAid, a Voice of the Martyrs partner, formally petitioned the UN this past Monday to start an investigation into the illegal kidnapping and torture of the disappeared Gao.

The request was filed by the legal counsel of China Aid Association with the United Nations Special Rapporteur of Torture.

Gao first earned the Chinese government's attention in 2005 when he took on "sensitive" cases representing persecuted Christians, groups, and house churches in court. His wife and two young children were placed under communist police surveillance.

On August 15, 2006, Gao was kidnapped by police from the home of his sister, confined, and tortured. Authorities later charged him with inciting subversion or rebellion.

Gao was kidnapped again on September 21, 2007 after writing a detailed report to the U.S. Congress on the Chinese government abuses of human rights. His kidnappers brutally tortured Gao for 50 days before releasing him with a death threat if he spoke of his torture.

However, death threats wouldn't stop Gao. He waited until his family had escaped police surveillance and gained asylum with ChinaAid before publishing an account of his last kidnapping and torture.

A third kidnapping took place in February 2009 following the publishing of his torture account. Gao was released after the international community's outrage gained enough attention.

The last time Gao was heard from was in April 2010 before he was kidnapped again. European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek says he is assuming the worst after reading Gao's previous account of the torture he suffered.

The U.S. State Department has inquired of Chinese officials concerning Gao's whereabouts, and the UN declared Gao's treatment by the Chinese government to be illegal.

In response, the Chinese government blatantly told the UN to "mind its own business," saying this is a matter of internal affair in their country. This is despite the fact that China signed the UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights as well as 20 other UN agreements and documents.

ChinaAid's legal counselor, David E. Taylor, states, ""Nonetheless, we believe it is important for the international community to see again how the Chinese Communist Party responds with arrogance and recalcitrance to the UN, and to show the world--especially Gao's family and the Chinese government--that Gao has not been forgotten for even one second, and never will be."

Hopefully, through Gao's bold refusal to back down from supporting the persecuted in the face of threats and trial, other Christians will be bold to stand up for the Gospel and their fellow believers.

Please pray for the UN to pursue investigations of the illegal conduct of the Chinese government towards Gao. Pray that Gao would be found and released and that the Lord would protect him from harm.

Click here to sign the petition for Gao's freedom.