Rocking back and forth, Shlomo Ben Yaakov reads from a Torah scroll at a synagogue on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
Intermittently his soft mellow voice rises in Hebrew and he is joined by the dozens who recite after him.
Most do not fully understand the language, but this small Nigerian community claims Jewish ancestry dating back hundreds of years – and they are left frustrated by a lack of recognition by Israel.
“I consider myself a Jew,” says Mr Yaakov.
Outside the Gihon Hebrew Synagogue in the suburb of Jikwoyi a table is laid inside a tent built from palm leaves to celebrate Sukkot, a festival that commemorates the years Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land.
“Just as we are doing this now, they are doing same in Israel,” says Mr Yaakov, as people share traditional cholla bread (baked at the synagogue) and wine from small cups being passed around.
He is an Igbo – one of Nigeria’s three dominant ethnic groups which originates in the south-east of the country. His given Igbo name is Nnaemezuo Maduako.
