Nigerian Red Cross Society tribute to Lydia Nwankwo, slain in Sokoto state, Nigeria on Oct. 6, 2026. (Facebook)

ABUJA, Nigeria (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a Christian woman volunteering with the Nigerian Red Cross Society in an Oct. 6 attack on her team’s vehicle in Sokoto state, sources said.

Lydia Nwankwo, 30, was shot dead at around 7 p.m. when her team’s vehicle came under fire on the Kajiji-Shagari road in Shagari County, relatives said.

“Bandits opened fire on their vehicle,” her sister, Chisom Nwankwo, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Lydia was shot in the chest and died on the spot. Her body was brought home in a Hilux vehicle at about 11 p.m. that night.”

Another sister, Victoria Nwankwo, said that, along with the Red Cross, Lydia Nwankwo was working with a development partner supporting the Sokoto State Ministry of Health.

“Lydia did not die because she was rich. She did not die because she was a politician. She died because she chose to go where others refused to go,” Victoria Nwankwo told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “She left the comfort of her home to serve vulnerable communities in hard-to-reach areas in Sokoto. She was there to help mothers, children and the sick. She was there to bring health, food, and hope.”

Chisom Nwankwo said her sister was “was engaged in assisting people affected by waves of terrorist attacks in Sokoto state.”

“Lydia was returning from field operations in Kajiji community, Shagari Local Government Area,” Chisom Nwankwo said. “Her team of five were ambushed around 7 p.m. on the Kajiji-Shagari road, after they had carried out field work in Tambuwal Local Government Area.”

Area resident Suleiman Ayuba told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that Lydia Nwankwo was shot dead by “Muslim jihadists.”

“She was a Christian humanitarian worker,” Ayuba said. “She and her team, were on the way back from field work with a partner that supports the Sokoto State Ministry of Health when they were attacked.”

The Sokoto State Red Cross Society issued a press statement saying Lydia Nwankwo died in a “bandit attack.”

“The Nigerian Red Cross Society, Sokoto South Division, is in deep mourning following the tragic passing of its volunteer, Lydia Chinenye Nwankwo,” the society’s Bello Bawa said. “Lydia was a committed humanitarian who dedicated her time to serving vulnerable communities. We condole with her family, friends and the entire Red Cross family. May her gentle soul rest in peace.”

Police in Sokoto state issued a statement saying only, “We are aware of the incident, but investigations are ongoing,” though there were also reports of a police inspector being killed in the incident, as well as other attacks in Shagari County.

More Christians were killed in Nigeria than in any other country from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025, according to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List. Of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during that period, 3,490 – 72 percent – were Nigerians, an increase from 3,100 the prior year.

Nigeria ranked No. 7 on the WWL list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

In the country’s North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militia attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, Christians above all, according to the report. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the country’s northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings, according to the report. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years.

The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, the WWL noted. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali. 

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