The Nigerian Army killed a key Boko Haram commander, at least 10 Boko Haram terrorists and more than 70 terroristic bandits in ongoing defensive maneuvers in northeastern Nigeria since Jan. 11, ABC News and others reported.
Nigerian soldiers killed Abu Khalid, a Boko Haram commander in the Sambisa Forest, and 10 Boko Haram terrorists in a night raid Jan. 30 in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, army spokesman Sani Uba told ABC News. Additionally, soldiers killed about 70 terrorists in a series of military maneuvers since Jan. 11 that also destroyed several camps in Kaduna State in northwestern Nigeria that terrorists had used to attack vulnerable communities for many years, residents of the Kaura local government area in southern Kaduna State told CSW.
Welcoming the military’s response to violence against Christians in Nigeria, the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission continues to call for an end to the persecution of Christians there.
“Religious liberty is a cherished Baptist distinction, and Southern Baptists have long affirmed that every person – everywhere – deserves the freedom to worship without fear. We pray that justice will be done, captives will be freed, and the light of the Gospel will pierce even the deepest darkness.”
Dr. Gary Hollingsworth, ERLC Interim President
“The horrific reports of Nigerian Christians being abducted and imprisoned simply for bearing the name of Christ should jolt every one of us to attention,” ERLC Interim President Gary Hollingsworth told Baptist Press. “Our brothers and sisters in Nigeria continue to endure unthinkable persecution, and the global Church must respond with fervent prayer, steadfast advocacy and unwavering solidarity to protect the freedom to worship without fear of persecution.”
In the same operation in which Nigerian soldiers killed the Boko Haram terrorists, soldiers rescued 11 individuals – five men, three women and three children, reported by My Christian Daily to be Christians – that armed assailants abducted Oct. 26, 2025, from the Kachia local government area. But more than 165 Christians kidnapped from three churches during worship services Jan. 18 remain missing.
“Even as we welcome signs that the Nigerian Army will confront these atrocities, we recognize that as long as these militant forces persist, Christians will be at risk,” Hollingsworth said. “We cannot avert our eyes or soften our voices until the lives of our brothers and sisters are protected and these persecutors are apprehended.
