News

Attempt to Destroy New Religious Movement in South Korea Raises Concern

Published

6 years ago

August 7, 2020

Eric

A webinar on a new religious movement in South Korea and its political, religious, and social dimensions with the recent COVID-19 crisis, was held on July 20, and had international scholars and experts in the field of religion, international law, and human rights as participants.

Titled “COVID-19 and Religious Freedom: Scapegoating Shincheonji in South Korea”, the webinar addressed the recent issues of aggressive attack from politically powerful conservative and fundamentalist Protestant churches in the country on a newly-established, fast-growing Christian denomination named ‘Shincheonji (New Heaven and New Earth) Church of Jesus’ founded in 1984.

The new Christian movement by Shincheonji has become a target of “persecution from fundamentalist protestants” because of its successful religious expansion “from the conservative and fundamentalist protestants who see Shincheonji as competitors and want to destroy it,” said Massimo Introvigne as an Italian sociologist of religion who studied Shincheonji before and after the COVID-19 pandemic and published the first account of the religious group in English.

Alessandro Amicarelli, Chairman European Federation for Freedom of Belief, pointed out that the South Korean authorities problematized Shincheonji as a cause of the COVID-19 crisis to shut down the church. “Already 30 other people were tested positive before the patient 31 (a member of Shincheonji criticized for the widespread of the virus). Many Chinese including ones from Wuhan had visited Daegu (of South Korea) and infection spread,” he said.

Willy Fautre, Director of Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF), said that the recent attack on Shincheonji can be viewed as an attempt by the fundamentalist Protestant groups in South Korea to weaken and destroy the competitor in the religious market. He added, “Human rights violations against Shincheonji members through coercive conversion program (also known as ‘deprogramming’) with kidnapping and confinement for the last decade have been made as a result of the failure of competition from the Protestant churches in the country.”

Ciaran Burke, Associate Professor in University of Derby, said that the South Korean health authorities explicitly link Shinchoenji and outbreak of the COVID-19 until now even though a greater link between the virus and confirmation cases has been found in other churches. He also expressed concerns over “collecting personal information of 300,000 domestic and international Shincheonji members by the government which is a possible violation of international agreement, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) South Korea ratified in 1990.”

The prosecution initiated investigation of Shincheonji leaders including founder Man Hee Lee for his alleged role in the widespread of the COVID-19. Three Shincheonji officials were arrested on July 8 on a charge of playing a role in major outbreak at its early stage by “(submitting) inaccurate list of members.”

“The authorities ignored requests to change the word ‘sect’ in their official reports when referring to Shincheonji church. Local governments encouraged the residents to report Shincheonji congregation and facilities to the authorities, creating stigma that the members were to be treated as criminals,” said a Shincheonji official in the webinar.

A recent statement issued by “families of the deceased and victims of COVID-19” wrote that “the thousands of the damage and deaths of Koreans reflect the failure of initial response to contain the virus by the government.” It added that the Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae “allowed COVID-19 patients from China to enter Korea, leading to a widespread outbreak of the virus across the country, which resulted in the deaths of the Korean people.” It also stated that she is trying to avoid her responsibility for the damage by “giving direct orders to prosecutors for a raid and arrests against Shincheonji Church”.

A leading South Korean TV network, MBC reported that a recently conducted screening at Daegu, epicenter of COVID-19 major outbreak within South Korea added the weight to the failure of initial response to contain the virus by the government. The report, citing analysis from a local university hospital, inferred that at least 180,000 of the total population of 2.4 million people in the city of Daegu were infected with the COVID-19, 27 times to the official 6,800 confirmed cases. Most of the confirmation cases, over 5,000, are members of Shincheonji Church as their personal information was collected by the government, while the remaining 180,000 potential infections have not been investigated.

News

Jigawa ADC Receives Defecters from APC, NNPP, PDP

Published

16 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Eric

A wave of defections has hit the All Progressives Congress, the New Nigeria People’s Party, and the Peoples Democratic Party in Jigawa State, as politicians and supporters defected to the African Democratic Congress.

On Sunday, Dutse, the Jigawa State capital witnessed a large turnout of supporters and politicians during a mass gathering to formally receive a two-term senator representing Jigawa South-West Senatorial District, Senator Sabo Nakudu, who joined the ADC alongside other defectors.

Nakudu, accompanied by other politicians from across the state, was received by ADC leaders and supporters.

The former senator, who chaired the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) in the 9th Assembly, resigned from the APC on Friday and joined the ADC on Sunday.

Speaking after receiving his ADC membership card, Nakudu said, “I am grateful to my supporters for turning out en masse to receive me into my new party,” adding, “I promise to work towards a greater Jigawa and the country at large.”

Nakudu, who contested against Governor Umar Namadi during the 2023 APC governorship primaries, is expected to run for governor on the ADC platform in 2027.

Sources close to him said he has begun consultations with key stakeholders in the state.

Another prominent figure linked to the ADC is Aminu Ringim, a three-time governorship candidate in Jigawa State under the PDP (2015, 2019) and NNPP (2023).

Ringim, described as a protégé of former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, said he would soon formally join the ADC at a similar event in his hometown.

Also present at the event was Senator Ubale Shittu, a political figure who previously represented Jigawa North-East Senatorial District in the 8th National Assembly on the PDP platform before later moving to the APC.

Earlier, the Jigawa State ADC coordinator, Ahmad Gumel, welcomed Nakudu and other defectors, describing the development as a boost to the party.

He said the defections reflected the party’s growing popularity in the state and praised Nakudu’s experience as an asset.

Similarly, ADC chieftain Bashir Jumbo welcomed the new members, saying, “We pledge equal opportunities within the party structure.”

He urged party members to work towards unity, adding, “We must take over power in 2027 by the grace of God.”

Reacting, the PDP Public Relations Officer in the state, Umar Kyari, dismissed the defections, saying they did not involve key members of the party.

“They’re just a group of political jokers seeking relevance,” he told our correspondent via telephone on Monday.

Kyari challenged the ADC to test its popularity at the polls.

“If they want to test their power, come out and contest — we’ll show them what politics is,” he said.

Also reacting, the APC spokesperson in the state, Bashir Kundu, downplayed the development, describing the defectors as driven by personal interests.

“They’re chasing personal interests, not the public good,” he said.

Kundu added that Namadi’s performance would continue to attract support, expressing confidence that more politicians would join the APC.

News

‘ADC Membership Hits 500,000 after INEC Derecognition of Leadership’

Published

1 day ago

April 6, 2026

Eric

The African Democratic Congress has recorded a surge in new members following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to delist Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary of the party.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, revealed in a statement on his X account on Sunday that the party’s membership “had grown from over 40,000 registrations on April 2 to more than 500,000 new Nigerians joining between April 1 and today.”

INEC, through its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, announced the delisting on April 1, citing a court order that directed the commission to maintain the status quo pending a suit challenging the legality of Mark’s leadership.

The commission removed Mark and Aregbesola from its portal and said it would not recognise Nafiu Bala Gombe, who had approached the court seeking to be declared national chairman.

Haruna explained that INEC had received conflicting legal demands from opposing camps, including a cautionary letter from Suleiman Usman SAN & Co. advising against recognising Gombe, and a counter-letter from Summit Law Chambers requesting enforcement of the Court of Appeal judgment affirming Gombe’s position.

Reacting to the development, Abdullahi and his Peoples Democratic Party counterpart, Ini Ememobong, insisted the development was “a calculated attempt to undermine democratic structures,” and urged supporters to mobilise in defence of democratic principles.

News

Yusuf Tuggar Resigns As Foreign Affairs Minister

Published

1 week ago

March 30, 2026

Eric

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has resigned.

Tuggar’s resignation was confirmed by the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, on Monday.

The minister’s action followed the directive of President Bola Tinubu to all political appointees in his administration who intend to contest elective positions in the 2027 elections to resign from their posts on or before March 31.

The president had hinged his decision on Section 88(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 and the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for party primaries ahead of the 2027 polls.

Tuggar’s resignation comes amid the speculation of his interest in contesting the 2027 Bauchi State governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He is a seasoned diplomat, policymaker, and political figure who was appointed as minister by Bola Ahmed Tinubu in August 2023.

Born on March 12, 1967, he has built a distinguished career spanning diplomacy, politics, energy, and strategic consulting.

He is widely regarded for his role in shaping Nigeria’s global engagement and advancing its foreign policy priorities.

His political career includes serving as a member of the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011, representing the Gamawa Constituency in Bauchi State.

The diplomat later contested the governorship of the state in two election cycles.

From 2017 to 2023, Tuggar served as Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, where he played a key role in strengthening bilateral relations, enhancing trade cooperation, and promoting Nigeria’s interests in Europe.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tuggar led Nigeria’s diplomatic efforts under the Tinubu administration.

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