Chinedu Asadu

At least 13 people, including four children, were killed in two separate stampedes in Nigeria as large crowds gathered to collect food and clothing items distributed at annual Christmas events.

At least 15 Catholic worshippers were killed in a Burkina Faso village on Sunday when gunmen attacked a community as they gathered for prayers in the country's conflict-hit northern region, church officials said.

A Nigerian priest was burned alive in his home in the country's north on Jan. 15, police said.

Catholic clerics increasingly are victims of violent attacks across Nigeria amid continued security challenges: Boko Haram and bandits attacking residents in the north and militants and kidnapping groups attacking residents in the south.

Nigeria accounts for 27% of malaria cases and 23% of malaria deaths across the world. And during the coronavirus pandemic, Nigeria's underfunded health care system has struggled to address both crises.

For two weeks, protesters in Lagos have demanded an end to the a notoriously violent police unit. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria has put their full support behind the campaign.