Since 1920 Christian Reformed World Missions has been working in Nigeria to help develop a national church that today includes Reformed denominations with a total membership of well over 300,000.
Nigeria has a closely matched population of Christians and Muslims that share a history of conflict and fierce competition for political power. Most of the residents in the north of the country are Muslim, while most Christians live in the south.
Violence earlier this year was fueled by a rumor that President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian, intended to amend the constitution before the 2007 elections to allow himself a third term. Further fuel came from a deadly exchange in which northerners killed Christians from the south and southerners retaliated by burning mosques and killing Muslims.
