Many Flee Nigeria to Evade Islamist Attacks

February 15, 2012

Many Nigerians have fled to neighboring Cameroon to escape violence by the Islamist Boko Haram group and revenge attacks by Christians, International Christian Concern reports. Boko Haram has claimed to be fighting for an Islamic state in Nigeria's north, but many southern Nigerians have also left the country. "Everybody is insecure in Nigeria," said a priest from southern Nigeria who is taking refuge in a Cameroonian border town. "The fear is all-pervading. ... We feel secure in Cameroon." Boko Haram has taken credit for the recent rash of bombings and shootings, including the Jan. 20 attack in Nigeria's second-largest city of Kano that left 185 dead -- the group's deadliest attack yet.