Suicide bombers leave more than 80 dead, 100+ wounded

Protestors flooded the streets following Sunday's
 attacks in Pakistan.
(Image courtesy 8thirty8 via Facebook)

Pakistan (MNN) ― Many are calling Sunday's blast the "deadliest assault" against Pakistan's Christians.

A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the historic All Saints Church in Peshwar after Sunday's service was dismissed. Explosions rocked the area as hundreds of people, many of whom were women and children, left the church building.

Witnesses reportedly heard two blasts, the second more powerful than the first. Over 600 people were inside for Sunday's Mass, reports Reuters.

So far, the injured exceeded 120, and the death toll soared past 80. Voice of the Martyrs USA spokesman Todd Nettleton says it probably won't stop there.

"Our contacts in Pakistan are telling us by the time everything is said and done...the death toll will likely go over 100 for this attack," states Nettleton.

Two Islamic militant groups, both with past links to the Taliban, are claiming to be behind the attack, according to BBC News. Reuters says one of the groups, TTP Jundullah, claimed responsibility within hours.

Reuters quotes the group's spokesperson, Ahmed Marwat, as saying, "They are the enemies of Islam, therefore we target them. We will continue our attacks on non-Muslims on Pakistani land."

Following Sunday's assault, masses reportedly took to Peshwar's streets, burning tires and protesting the government's apparent inability to protect religious minorities.

"They knew it was a potential target. Peshawar is a city where there is a lot of radical Islamic activity, so that's one of the questions and one of the complaints from the Christian community there in Pakistan: how did this happen?" Nettleton says.

"I think underneath that question is the grief and the shock of so many people being killed so quickly in, really, a senseless attack."

While some are taking to the streets in protest, Nettleton says other believers are reacting with violence against Peshwar's Muslim community.

"We need to pray against that; we need to pray for peace; we need to pray for the Christian community to have a spirit of forgiveness and understanding and grace," he says.

Pakistan's Christians are the second-largest religious minority group behind Hindus, representing around 1.6% of the mostly-Muslim population. One lawmaker says about 200,000 believers live in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Islamic militants often target religious minorities in their campaigns for power, but sectarian violence in Pakistan has primarily involved two parties: Sunni and Shia Muslims. While sporadic bouts of violence do occur against Christ-followers, most persecution results from Pakistan's blasphemy law.

While the source and cause for Sunday's attack remain unclear, Nettleton says there may be a silver lining.

"Potentially, maybe there are some slivers of hope in this as we see the government, even Muslims within the government, respond to this attack and say, 'This is unacceptable,'" he states.

He adds that recent statements from Pakistani leaders--"This is not true Islam. This is not acceptable under any religion to attack women and children like this"--are an encouraging sign.

"Again, those are words," Nettleton says, "but we wait to see what actions will be taken and what will be done to practically provide protection for the Church there."

Your prayers are needed as Pakistani believers grapple with this tragedy. Please pray for those widowed or orphaned by Sunday's attack. Ask the Lord to meet each of His followers in a deeper way during this time.

"Pray for the pastors who are working in this situation and trying to minister hope and help and encouragement to the Christian community there," asks Nettleton. "One of our contacts there is a pastor. When we spoke with him, he had already done five funerals yesterday--five burials for those killed in the church."

Pray for supernatural grace to fall upon each heart impacted by this tragedy.

"In a situation where grace is completely NOT the natural response, we need to pray that God will provide supernaturally for them to respond with forgiveness," Nettleton says.

Islamists Bomb Three Churches in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Blasts in two churches in Zaria, one in Kaduna city kill dozens of Christians.

By Abdias Pasoville

 

 The bombed Shalom Church in Kaduna city.
(Photo Courtesy: Compass Direct News)

JOS, Nigeria, June 17 (Compass Direct News) – Suspected Islamic extremists bombed three churches in Kaduna state this morning, the third consecutive Sunday that worship services in Nigeria have ended in lethal bloodshed.

 

In a predominantly Christian area of Zaria known as Wusasa, a suspected Islamic extremist crashed a car into a barricade at an Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) church at around 9 a.m., setting off explosives that killed at least 24 people and wounded 125, according to one unconfirmed report citing an anonymous state official. A few minutes later, suspected Islamic extremists set off explosives at Christ the King Catholic Church in the Sabon Gari area of Zaria.

 

An eyewitness told Compass that at least 10 corpses were removed from the cathedral, with dozens of people injured, many critically. At press time the Nigerian Red Cross Society reported the death toll from the blast at the Catholic church had reached 16.

 

A short while later, a Pentecostal congregation called Shalom Church in the Trikania area of Kaduna city was bombed, killing at least 10, according to the Red Cross. Retaliatory attacks reportedly killed several others.

 

The attacks were believed to have been carried out by the Boko Haram Islamic sect, which took responsibility for similar attacks in Plateau and Borno states on June 10 and in Bauchi state on June 3.

 

Andrew Gani-Ikilami, executive director of the Wusasa Business School in Zaria, said many victims were arriving at the area hospital.

 

“One of the churches is an ECWA church located here in Wusasa where we are, and many children are affected,” he said.

 

Dr. Taylor Adeyemi, medical director at St. Luke’s (Anglican) Hospital Wusasa in Zaria, confirmed that many of the victims were children.

 

“40 injured Christians have been brought to the hospital, and the majority of them are children,” Adeyemi said. “Three have died, and others are still being treated.”

 

John Shiklam, a journalist in Kaduna city, said a 24-hour-curfiew made it difficult to obtain more information on the blast there.

 

“All I can say is that it is true there were attacks on three churches in the state, and as a result, a fight broke out between Muslims and Christians,” Shiklam told Compass by phone.

 

Besides the bombing of a church in Jos, Plateau state last Sunday, gunmen also attacked  a church in the town of Biu in Borno state, killing two Christians (see www.compassdirect.org, “Suicide Bombing Hits Another Church in Jos, Nigeria,” June 10).

 

On June 3 in Bauchi state, a Muslim suicide bomber from the Boko Haram sect attacked the Living Faith church in Yelwa, a Christian settlement on the outskirts of the northern Nigerian city of Bauchi, killing 13, with allegations following that authorities killed eight others who were protesting the lack of security. The blast also collapsed a wall of the nearby Harvest Field Church of Christ, leaving three people in critical condition (see www.compassdirect.org, “Blast Wreaks Bloodshed on Two Churches in Bauchi, Nigeria,” June 3). 

 

Boko Haram has killed at least 560 people this year alone, according to a county by The Associated Press. Literally meaning “Forbidden Book” and translated as “Western education is forbidden,” the Islamist sect has targeted churches, state offices, law enforcement sites and some moderate mosques in its effort to destabilize the government and impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on all of Nigeria.

 

Nigeria’s population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population and live mainly in the south, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent and live mainly in the north. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World.

 

www.compassdirect.org

 

END

 

**********

Copyright 2012 Compass Direct News

Suicide Bomber Targets Churches in Kaduna, Nigeria

Site of a bomb explosion at a road in Kaduna,
 Nigeria on Sunday, April 8, 2012 

Repelled by church security, suspected Islamic extremist detonates blast at nearby taxi stand.

KADUNA, Nigeria, April 9 (CDN) — Churches celebrating Easter services were the targets of a suicide bomber who killed at least 38 people yesterday in Kaduna city in northern Nigeria, sources said.


Security personnel at one of the church buildings blocked the bomber, believed to belong to the Boko Haram Islamic sect, who then decided to detonate his explosives in the street at a nearby motorcycle taxi center, the sources said. Dozens of people were injured in addition to those killed.


The bombs damaged the buildings of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Good News church and the All Nations Christian Assembly, besides blasting off roofs from homes and hotels and destroying vehicles. Located on the same street, Gwari Road, are the Redeemed Christian Church of God and an Assemblies of God church.


Luka Binniyat, a Christian resident of the city, told Compass that law enforcement agents believed the ECWA Good News church was the primary target.


“Richard Markus, a detective, mentioned that the bomber’s main target was the ECWA Good News church a few meters from the scene of the bomb blast,” Binniyat said.


Binniyat said that he saw the explosion at about 9:30 a.m., and shortly afterwards spoke with Markus.


“The bomber, described as dark, lean-looking and in his mid-30s, approached the ECWA Good News church at around 9:30 a.m., a plainclothes policeman informed us on Gwari road beside a roadblock set up to safeguard the church about 100 meters from its entrance,” Binniyat said.


Markus described the suicide bomber as wearing shorts and a T-shirt; he said he had an army uniform in the back of the Honda Academy car he was driving, according to Binniyat.


“He tried forcing his way past, but the security man stood in between him and the blockade,” Binniyat said. “He even pushed him a ways before some policemen manning the gate of the church rushed down to the scene.”


According to Binniyat, Markus said, “When we saw the uniform, I told him that he was a disgrace to the force. I said he should have been here to help with security instead of trying to be such a nuisance. Anyway, the police, fully armed, told him to move away. He drove away in a reckless manner.


“As we were regretting not searching his car, in about four to five minutes, we heard an earth- shaking explosion. The car that exploded was the same car that wanted to enter here.”


Residents of Kaduna who witnessed the attack told Compass some of the church buildings were affected. John Shiklam, a Kaduna-based Christian journalist, said the explosion shattered windows of church buildings and nearby establishments.


“A suicide bomber attempted to bomb the ECWA church and the All Nations Christian Assembly, both located at Gwari Road by Junction Road, but security agents repelled him,” Shiklam said. “However, on his way out the bomb exploded at Junction Road, near the Stadium Roundabout, killing the bomber and damaging some commercial vehicles at the junction.”


Blessing Audu, who witnessed the explosion, confirmed that parts of the Assemblies of God church building were also damaged.

Emergency rescue workers from the National Emergency Management Authority and the Red Cross removed bodies and evacuated the injured to four hospitals in Kaduna and Zaria. At St. Gerard’s Hospital, staff members told Compass that they had received five bodies and 10 wounded persons. Other hospitals receiving corpses and treating the wounded were Barau Dikko Hospital, Military Hospital and the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital.


Boko Haram (literally “Forbidden Book,” translated as “Western education is forbidden”) has targeted state offices, law enforcement sites and some moderate mosques in its effort to destabilize the government and impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on all of Nigeria, but Kaduna resident Stanley Yakubu said that Christians are one of its main targets.


“The truth is that there is a deliberate effort to silence or eliminate the Christians in the north,” he said. “Otherwise, why have churches suddenly become the target of suicide bombers? Are there no mosques and Islamic centers in the north? Let the world accept the fact that there is no ‘Boko Haram,’ but ‘Christianity Haram.’”


Another resident, Malachy Gwatiyap, told Compass that attacks on Christians must stop. The bomber detonated the bomb in order to kill Christians disembarking from motorcycle taxis heading to their churches, he said.


“It appears from this heinous incident that Boko Haram is changing tactics – if they can’t get Christians in the churches, it would still serve their purpose to get them either on their way to or from church,” he said. “Shall we continue to suffer in silence? Shall we continue to be the sacrificial lambs on the altar of bigotry of these Islamists? We have suffered enough.”


END

Survivors Desperately Seek Loved Ones in Jos, Nigeria Blast

Roseline Kumbo Pam, killed in
 Sunday’s church bombing in Jos.(Photo: Compass Direct News) 

Confirmed death toll rises to nine in Islamic extremist bombing at Catholic church.

JOS, Nigeria, March 13 (CDN) — One man rendered a widower by the Islamist suicide bombing at a Catholic church on Sunday (March 11) discovered his wife had been killed only after finding her severed hand with her wedding ring on it.


Another could identify his wife only by the clothing left on her remains.

Both women, 52-year-old Rose Dominic Dung Tari, and 50-year-old Roseline Kumbo Pam, had given birth to five children; the two victims were neighbors, their homes separated only by an apartment between them. They were two of the nine Christians confirmed killed – including two Boy Scouts, ages 8 and 16, helping security personnel keep the assailants outside the church compound gate – in the bombing by Islamic extremists reportedly from the Boko Haram sect.


Pam’s husband, Sunday Davou Pam, told Compass that before leaving for the service at St. Finbarr’s Catholic Church, his wife was preoccupied with preparations for her brother’s wedding that morning and helping him settle with his bride-to-be.


“I was in a meeting at the back of the church in the men’s fellowship meeting when the blast went off,” Pam said. “And when we heard a loud explosion, we all rushed to the front of the church, only to find the dead bodies of many of our members lying scattered across the street. There were also many injured who were crying for help.”


His wife, however, was nowhere to be found. He tried calling her cell phone, but it went unanswered, he said.


“I phoned her four times and still got no response,” Pam said. “My friend, David Dung, was also searching for his wife, Regina, and eventually found her dead body, but my wife was nowhere to be found.”


The suicide bombers had detonated the explosives after security personnel stopped them at the gate of the church compound, killing mainly people outside the sanctuary – some instantly, and others later in hospitals, including an 8-year-old boy who succumbed to his injuries at 1 a.m. today, according to church sources. After a desperate search, Pam finally found his wife’s remains.


“I saw a dead body with no arms, and the lower part of the body was also blown off to pieces,” he said. “I also saw a hand that had a ring on its finger. The hand was that of my wife. That is how I found the partial part of her body and collected it for burial.”


Pam said his wife was a leader of the women’s fellowship in the parish and community. They had been married for 32 years.


Searching MorguesDominic Dung Tari told Compass that his wife, Rose, had only one thing on her mind before leaving for church that morning – money for the Sunday service offering. He was staying home ill with a fever, and she asked him for money.


“I could not give her the money she requested because I did not have a dime on me,” Tari said. “I asked our son whether he could spare us some little amount to enable their mother to have something to give as offering in the church, but he too had only 500 naira. So, she left for the church without having anything to offer as offering.”


Still at home at the time of the blast, Tari rushed out when he heard the explosion. Growing more anxious each minute that his wife did not call him, shaken, he ran to the church site. Unable to find her, he returned home.


“Just when I returned to my house, my mobile phone rang and I quickly grappled with it to receive the call, but then it was not from my wife,” he said. “I was told there is a corpse among the dead that resembles my wife. I raced back again to the church.”


Emergency rescue workers, however, had already taken the body along with others to the morgue, he said. He set out on the task of visiting morgues.


“I went ‘round the various hospitals – JUTH [Jos University Teaching Hospital], Plateau Specialist Hospital, and the Air Force Military Hospital – in all these hospitals, I could still not find my wife’s corpse,” Tari said.


With the help of family members, her remains were finally located at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital morgue, he said.


“The corpse had no head, no legs and was in pieces,” he said. “We only identified those pieces of human flesh as hers because of the clothes she wore.”


Her remains were buried yesterday at her family’s house.


“My wife was a devout Christian,” Tari said. “She was a member of the global ministries team and a very prayerful woman. To us, she was a mother, a sister, and a wife I so much loved.”


He said the attacks on Christians in Nigeria amount to a war waged by Muslim extremists against Christians. Sunday’s attack followed a Feb. 26 bomb blast outside the church walls of a Church of Christ in Nigeria service that killed at least three Christians (see www.compassdirect.org, “Suicide Bombers Attack Worship Service in Jos, Nigeria,” Feb. 26).


“I am an ex-service man [retired military] – I know what a war is,” he said. “What is happening in Nigeria today is a war against the church. We need to fight back spiritually, as this is the only way we as Christians can survive it.”


Death Toll
Among those killed in the in the blast, church sources said, was Tari Benjamin, who would have been 9 years old on March 26. Emmanuel David, 16, who like Tari was a Boy Scout helping to secure the church compound, was also killed in the blast.


Tari’s mother, Rose Benjamin, told Compass that her son died this morning at about 1 a.m. in the Intensive Care Unit of Jos University Teaching Hospital from burns from the bomb attack.


Besides the two boys and Rose Dominic Dung Tari, Roseline Kumbo Pam, and Regina David Dung, other church members killed in the blast were Emmanuel Kanke, Henry Chuwang, Matthew Dalyop and Ahmadu Choji.


Rose Benjamin said her 8-year-old son had a premonition he was about to die.


“He returned to the house after attending the Sunday school class, and then while placing his hands on my shoulders, told me he was returning to the church for his last duty,” she said. “I did not understand what he meant by that – not until he died this morning did his last moment with me that Sunday morning come to memory.”


Tari, the second of three children and known to be a hard-working and intelligent pupil at school, had left for church wearing his Boys Scout uniform and joined other Scouts, she said.


“They were working alongside security men, screening worshippers before allowing them entry into the church, before the suicide bombers crashed into them when they refused to allow them into the church,” she said.


While church member accounts varied as to whether there were two or three bombers in the car, they agreed that one of them was disguised as a woman, wearing a wig.


Several members of the church were still missing – not located among the wounded in hospitals or among the dead in morgues. Their relatives said they fear they may have been obliterated when the bombs went off; emergency rescue workers have collected bags of human body parts.


The body of 16-year-old Emmanuel David, an orphan whose father died in 2007, was found under debris of the church gate, said his uncle, Raphael Elisha Davou, 60.


“He and others refused to allow the bombers into the church premises,” Davou said. “Their refusal to allow the bombers into the church forced the bombers to detonate the bomb outside the church gate. It was the impact of the explosion that crashed the car into the gate and killed the youths and other security men with them. They died to save many other members of the church.”


Boko Haram, the name given to the Islamic extremist group officially called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad – “The People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” – seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates loosely as “Western education is forbidden.”


Nigeria’s population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population and live mainly in the south, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent of the population and live mainly in the north. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World.


Subsequent ViolenceApart from the bombing deaths, confusion is growing about subsequent violence.


While some state health and police sources have reported unconfirmed “reprisal” attacks against Muslims, witnesses have reported additional deaths of Christians at the hands of military personnel. Compass sources said soldiers killed four Christians when youths confronted them, asking them to leave the city because they had allowed suicide bombers to carry out attacks on churches.


The Jos-based Stefanos Foundation reported soldiers arriving at the church as people were searching for loved ones and opening fire on the crowd, killing several. Local press reported Special Task Force soldiers rushing to the scene of the blast and trying to control protestors by opening fire. Plateau state police spokesman Samuel Dabai reportedly said at least 10 people were killed and at least 10 others injured from the military action.


When Compass visited the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and the Plateau State Specialist Hospital yesterday, authorities confirmed 17 corpses in their morgues. Dr. Ishaya Pam, chief medical director at JUTH, said the hospital had received seven bodies and “about 12” injured persons, while Dr. Bitrus Matawal, medical director of Plateau Specialist Hospital, said there were 10 corpses in the hospital’s morgue brought from the church and seven injured Christians receiving treatment.


The Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Jos, appealed for calm on the part of Christians, saying God was not unaware of their suffering.


“We have a faith that preaches the respect of the sanctity of the human life,” Kaigama said. “We have a faith and have the ability to reason. So, we must not behave like those who believe they are serving God by killing others.”


END

Another Church in Jos, Nigeria Hit by Suicide Bombing

At least three dead in blast by suspected Islamic terrorists.

JOS, Nigeria, March 11 (CDN) — Two weeks after a suicide bomb attack by the Islamist sect Boko Haram during a church service here left at least three Christians dead, a similar blast during a Catholic Mass today killed at least three people.


As in the Feb. 26 bomb blast outside the church walls of the Church of Christ in Nigeria service, security personnel action apparently forced the suspected Islamic extremists approaching St. Finbar’s Catholic Church in Rayfield, an affluent area of Jos, to detonate their bomb before their car reached the sanctuary where worship was taking place, eyewitnesses said.


At Jos University Teaching Hospital, 14 people were reportedly receiving treatment for wounds following today’s explosion, which damaged the church’s roof, windows and a portion of a fence surrounding its compound. Others received treatment and were released.


Damian Babang, 26, a parishioner at the church, told Compass that he had just completed a reading during the service when he heard the explosion.


“The next thing I saw was the ceiling of the church falling on us and cries of people struggling to get out of the church,” he said. “Many people are injured, and many have died. I cannot say how many died or injured, but I saw dead bodies being carried away, as well as the injured.”


Babang, visibly traumatized as he spoke inside the church building, said he did not understand why churches have become targets of Muslim terrorists.


Retaliatory attacks by Christian youths reportedly took at least seven other lives today.


The Rev. Emmanuel Kundum told Compass that he had concluded the second Mass and left the third service to be conducted by another priest when he heard the explosion at 10:30 a.m.


“On getting outside, I saw members of our church rushing out from the church too – many were injured and others were dead,” Kundum told Compass.


The priest said he was unsure of the number of people killed, as both the dead and the injured were evacuated to various hospitals in Jos by workers of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Red Cross Society. At press time NEMA reported three bodies at the site, but it was not clear if those included the suicide bombers.


“It is very difficult for us to say how many of our parishioners that were either killed or injured,” Kundum said. “NEMA officials removed the dead and the injured to hospitals in the city. We are waiting for them to provide us with the details after calm is restored.”


St. Finbar’s is one of the largest Catholic parishes in Jos, with an average attendance of more than 3,000 worshippers each Sunday.


Jos, often described as a religious fault line between the north and the south, has been the site of numerous large-scale and isolated incidents of violence containing a religious component.


Suspected Islamic extremists detonated a bomb outside a church building in Suleja, Niger state, on Feb. 19, two months after Boko Haram Islamists killed 44 Christians and blinded seven in a Christmas Day church bombing in nearby Madalla. The Feb. 19 blast injured at five Christians.


Nigeria’s population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population and live mainly in the south, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent of the population and live mainly in the north. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World.


Boko Haram, the name given to the Islamic extremist group officially called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad – “The People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” – seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates loosely as “Western education is forbidden.”



END

Suicide Bombers Attack Worship Service in Jos, Nigeria

Remains of car used by suicide bombers to attack church in
 Jos, Nigeria. (Photo: Compass)

At least one Christian dead, 38 injured in blast at denominational headquarters.

JOS, Nigeria, February 26 (CDN) — Two suicide bombers from the Boko Haram Islamist sect drove a car laden with bombs into the worship service of a Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) congregation here this morning, killing at least one Christian and injuring dozens of other church members, sources said.


A man claiming to be a spokesman for Boko Haram reportedly claimed responsibility for the blast. The two suicide bombers broke through a security barrier at the gate of the church building at 7:20 a.m., a church leader said.


“When the bombs went off, I saw the dead body of one girl and four other members of our church who were injured,” said Yakubu Dutse, director of finance at COCIN headquarters, which is located in the same building.


Dutse said one of the bombers was shot dead and one was injured by soldiers posted as security guards before the bombs went off, killing the second assailant as well.


“When they were stopped at the gate of the church, they refused to stop, hence the soldiers posted to the church shot at the car,” he said.


Church member Felix Apollos rushed to the scene of the attack minutes after the bombs went off; he told Compass that he saw the bodies of five people killed in the attack, but the identities of the dead were yet to be confirmed at press time. At least 38 people were reportedly injured in the blast.


“I saw some Red Cross personnel moving both the dead and the injured into ambulances,” Apollos said. “I saw five dead bodies and about seven injured Christians being moved into vehicles. But then the number of the injured may be higher than this, as there were already some injured that were taken to the hospital before I got here.”


Apollos said members of a security force manning the church gate tried to stop the assailants, but soldiers also guarding the church ordered them to allow the bombers onto the premises.


“Just when the bombers got onto the church premises, they crashed into the church building,” Apollos told Compass.


The COCIN church holds two worship services on Sunday mornings, one at 7 and one at 10. The second service was cancelled, as were most church services throughout Jos.


The car used in the attack was blown to pieces, and seven other cars were also destroyed.
 

Boko Haram, the name given to the Islamic extremist group officially called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad – “The People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” – seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates loosely as “Western education is forbidden.”


Nigeria’s population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population and live mainly in the south, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent of the population and live mainly in the north. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World.


Jos, often described as a religious fault line between the north and the south, has been the site of numerous large-scale and isolated incidents of violence containing a religious component.


COCIN is one of the largest evangelical Christian denominations in Nigeria, with a large concentration in northern Nigeria. COCIN was established in Nigeria in 1904 by the Sudan United Mission by the leadership of Dr. Karl Kunn.


A number of COCIN congregations and other churches have come under attack by Boko Haram recently in northern Nigeria. In Borno state last year, the Rev. David Usman of the COCIN church in Maiduguri was murdered by Boko Haram. The denomination’s church buildings in Geidam, Damaturu, and Potiskum, all in Yobe state, also have been bombed.


COCIN church members have also been attacked in Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Local Government Areas of Bauchi state. Early morning attacks in Tafawa Balewa, on Jan. 22 left at least seven Christians dead and a church building destroyed. The attack on the Evangelical Church Winning All Church 2, residents of Tafawa Balewa said, was carried out by area Islamic extremists alongside members of the Boko Haram sect, with the church building and surrounding houses bombed.


Suspected Islamic extremists detonated a bomb outside a church building in Suleja, Niger state, on Feb. 19, two months after Boko Haram Islamists killed 44 Christians and blinded seven in a church bombing in nearby Madalla. The Feb. 19 blast injured at five Christians.



END

Two Churches Targeted in Bomb Attack in Nigeria

One of seven victims blinded by blast at Catholic
 church in Madalla, Nigeria on Christmas Day.
(Photo: Compass)

SULEJA, Nigeria, February 21 (CDN) — Suspected Islamic extremists detonated a bomb outside a church building here on Sunday (Feb. 19), two months after Boko Haram Islamists killed 44 Christians and blinded seven in a church bombing in nearby Madalla.


Sunday’s blast in Suleja, in front of Christ Embassy church during their morning worship, injured five people, one seriously, sources said. The bomb, planted in a parked car, was left by suspected members of Boko Haram, which seeks to impose sharia (Islamic law) throughout Nigeria, and authorities arrested some members of the sect the same day.


Triumphant Ministries International Church is also near the site of the explosion. Peter Osema, a search-and-rescue worker with Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, told Compass that the bomb was likely meant to affect both churches, and indeed Compass learned that at least one of those injured belongs to the Triumph Ministries church.


“We found five vehicles destroyed, and we believe that the bomb was targeted at these two churches here,” Osema said.


Collins Anyobi, a member of the Triumphant Ministries International Church, told Compass that his teenage son, Confidence Anyobi, was injured in the blast.


“Confidence was injured by flying pieces of glass from car windshields when the bomb exploded near our church,” he said.


Uyi Idugboe, pastor at Christ Embassy church in Suleja, told Compass that an unidentified person drove a Honda car with registration number Abuja 383 ABC into the parking lot and hurried away in another vehicle as church members were trying to find out who he was.


“This person’s sudden running away in another vehicle raised suspicion,” Idugboe said. ‘Nobody suspected him when he was parking the car, but when our members saw him leave hastily, they became suspicious about the parked car.”


The blast occurred a few minutes after the worship service began at 10 a.m., he said.


“When my members called my attention to the car, I asked all members to remain in the church, and we then phoned security agents alerting them about the car, but before they got here, the bomb exploded,” he said.


Besides Confidence Anyobi, also injured in the blast were Christians Chike Emefor, Anthony Nweke and Maureen Kenneth; the fifth victim was not identified at press time.


In addition to the two churches on Morocco Road in Suleja, a Christian-owned hotel, Crisia Hotels, is located on the same street.


If the bomb was planted by Boko Haram, it would be the sixth attack by the Islamic extremist sect in Suleja, including violence against the All Christian Fellowship Mission church.


A week before Sunday’s attack, Dr. Ola Makinde, prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, had called on Nigerian church leaders to adopt urgent security measures.


“Prayer alone is not enough to tackle the menace of Boko Haram,” Makinde said at his church’s synod in Lagos. “We should not only pray but watch.”


Niger State Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Maishanu said yesterday that five members of the Boko Haram sect had been arrested in connection with Sunday’s attack. He said police were able to arrest the Boko Haram members the afternoon of the attack following information provided to authorities.


Madalla Church BlastAt St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, where the casualty figure has varied the past few months as victims were sought and identified at various hospitals, the Rev. Isaac Achi said Monday (Feb. 20) that 44 church members were killed in the Christmas Day blast.


“Of the 127 victims, we lost 44, and of the injured seven lost their sight,” he said. “Four are still at Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, and eight at the National Hospital, Abuja. Others have been referred to Kano, Zaria, Lagos and Enugu hospitals.”


Achi lamented that what was supposed to be a day of joy for Christians was turned into one of mourning. St. Theresa’s has about 2,400 members spread among three worship services each Sunday.


Security agencies are still investigating the attack, and several Boko Haram members have been arrested in connection with it. The State Security Service has reportedly re-arrested the alleged mastermind of the Christmas bombing, Kabiru Abubakar Dikko Sokoto, and is seeking a former soldier in the Nigerian Army, Habibu Bama. The agency has also reportedly arrested Mohammed Aliyu and is trying to find another alleged mastermind of the attack, Bashiru Madalla.


In response to continuing attacks in northern Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan on Dec. 31 declared a state of emergency in some areas, deploying the military and other security agencies.



END

Christians Face Harsh Realities of Nigerian Church Bombing

Amid anguish and mourning, church leaders distinguish between defense and retaliation.

By Lekan Otufodunrin and Obed Minchakpu

The damaged St. Theresa’s Catholic Church
Photo courtesy: Abayoma Fayese

Abayomi Fayese

MADALLA, Nigeria, December 29 (Compass Direct News) – Until last Sunday, Christmas Day, St. Theresa’s Catholic Church on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, was just one of many branches of Christianity in the country.

An early morning suicide bomb attack by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram that left at least 45 people dead and 73 others injured, however, has turned the ruins in Madalla, Niger state into a national mourning site. Christian leaders and government officials have arrived to confirm the extent of human and material damage, but four days after the attack, church leaders were still trying to determine a final death toll. Three of the 45 confirmed dead were policemen on guard duty at the time of the attack, and most of the rest were parishioners.

While some church members have stayed away from mass at the remnant building, and other area worship centers are empty, others continue to attend St. Theresa’s.

“The shock of the incident has been very traumatic for the people who were at the scene, and it is going to be difficult for them to recover from it – we are all still mourning,” the Rev. Joseph Akor, director of communication of the Minna Diocese, told Compass. “The worshipers have cause to be afraid after an incident like this, but they are strengthened by the blood of the martyrs and have not relented in attending daily Mass.”

The Very Rev. Isaac Achi of St. Theresa’s today said that 73 people were receiving hospital treatment. The Rev. Musa Dada of the Niger state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said that of those hurt in the blast, 50 were seriously injured. On the same day as the Madalla attack, Boko Haram also detonated bombs at Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church in Jos, Plateau state, though no one was killed until a policeman who later confronted the assailants was shot. A bomb also exploded at a church in Gadaka, Yobe state, where several people reportedly were wounded.

Akor of the Minna Diocese told Compass that the church was doing everything possible to aid survivors, including those injured and those who lost relatives.

“Many of those who are directly affected can’t still comprehend what happened and why this kind of thing should happen,” he said. “They went to church and didn’t bargain for this kind of thing to happen. It is indeed a trial of our faith but, as in situations like this, we have no choice but to keep praying more.”

A widow who is a member of the church came into the damaged building this morning wailing over the death of her only son. Another woman lost her husband and all their children in the attack. A small girl lost her parents.

The Rev. Isaac Achi decried the loss the church has incurred, telling media this week how the bomb blast cast the body of a 9-year-old child onto the roof of a nearby Anglican church building.

“What happened is very sad,” Achi reportedly said. “Many innocent persons have been killed in this unprovoked attack on our church.”

Recalling how the attack was carried out, church member Joseph Chukwumeka reportedly said the congregation was filing out at the time.

“As members were approaching the frontage of the church, we heard two deadly explosions and most people went blank,” he told news media. “We ran helter-skelter, first of all to save ourselves before we recovered for a rescue operation.”

The 73 injured parishioners were receiving treatment in 12 hospitals in Abuja and in Niger state, church leaders told Compass. The hospitals are the State House Clinic; the National Hospital; Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital; Suleja General Hospital; Major Hospital, Kwamba; Delight Hospital, Suleja; Suzan Hospital, Suleja; Daughters of Charity Hospital, Kubwa; Diamond Crest Hospital, Zuba; Solace Hospital, Suleja; Lucas Hospital, Madalla; and Kubwa General Hospital.

St. Theresa’s Catholic Church has about 2,400 members, and on Sundays there are three worship services with an average attendance of about 800 worshipers.

The Most Rev. Martin Igwe Uzoukwu, bishop of Minna Diocese, said at a press conference at the church site today that the destruction amounted to an attack on area Christians.

“I call this an act of terrorism leveled against my people who went to church to celebrate the Holy Day of Christmas,” Uzoukwu said. “The Boko Haram group has claimed responsibility for this crime against us and the entire people of Niger state.”

The attack on the Madalla church marks the second time in eight months that a parish of the Catholic Church has been attacked, he said, the first having taken place in April, when Muslims set fire to St. Augustine’s Catholic Church at Angwan Kaje, in the city of Minna.

“Reflecting on the ugly and unfortunate but avoidable incident in Madalla, I stare at the fact that we have lost more than 40 people, with many others wounded, maybe maimed forever,” he said.

Uzoukwu urged all Christians to forgive the attackers and to remain steadfast in the Christian faith.

“We are called to forgive, as that is what Jesus taught us,” he said. “We should therefore forgive, even as we continue to pray for those who persecute us.”

Earlier in the week, CAN President Ayo Oritsejafor called for Christians to defend themselves.

“As CAN president I will not encourage revenge, but I will ask all Christians to protect themselves anyway they can,” he said. “Why should anybody come and kill you in your house? Protect yourself, protect your place of worship, protect your properties.”

During a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday (Dec. 28), Oritsejafor reportedly maintained that the attack on the church was a declaration of war on Christians and the country by Muslims and urged the government to prevent future occurrences lest they force Christians to take defensive action.

Speaking outside the church building today, Oritsejafor said that while he still does not encourage retaliation, “The consensus is that the Christian community nationwide will be left with no other option than to respond appropriately if there are any further attacks on our members, churches and property.”

Calling on Muslim leaders to condemn the attacks and take greater action to bring peace, Oritsejafor said they had abdicated “their responsibilities” and also that Christians were “fast losing confidence in government’s ability to protect our rights.”

Uzoukwu, bishop of the Minna Diocese, pleaded for Nigerian Muslims to address the challenge posed by Boko Haram to the nation’s security.

“I call on all my peace-loving Muslim friends to condemn publicly this act against us,” he said. “I call on all our religious leaders, traditional rulers and custodians of the land in Niger state to stand up strongly against this Boko Haram group.”

President Jonathan, a Christian, has reportedly tried to forestall sectarian violence by holding urgent meetings with Muslim and Christian leaders.

On Tuesday (Dec. 27), Nigeria’s primary Muslim cleric, the Sultan of Sokoto, denounced the Christmas Day attacks and called for calm.

“I want to assure all Nigerians that there is no conflict between Muslims and Christians, between Islam and Christianity,” said Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar. “It is a conflict between evil people and good people, and the good people are more than the evil-doers.”

Akor of St. Theresa’s told Compass that clergymen are appealing for peace.

“We don’t believe in resorting to violence but will keep appealing to the government to ensure the security of every citizen and to our members to remain law abiding no matter the situation,” he said.

www.compassdirect.org

END

Deadly Nigeria Bomb Attacks Condemned by World Leaders

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

Damage after the explosion at St Theresa
 Catholic church at Madalla (Photo via SkyNEWS website).

LONDON (ANS) -- There has been widespread condemnation in the international community of a series of Christmas Day bomb attacks in Nigeria that killed almost 40 people.

The White House said the attacks were “senseless violence,” and the British foreign secretary called them “cowardly.”

According to a story by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), militant Islamist group Boko Haram said it carried out the attacks.

A blast outside a church near the capital Abuja claimed 35 lives, while a police officer died in the city of Jos and four people were killed in Damaturu.

The BBC reported Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said the attacks were “an unwarranted affront on our collective safety and freedom.”

He added, “Nigerians must stand as one to condemn them.”

“Solidarity”
The BBC reported the White House said initial investigation showed the attacks were “terrorist acts,” and pledged to help Nigeria bring those responsible to justice.

Spokesman Jay Carney said, “We condemn this senseless violence and tragic loss of life on Christmas Day. We offer our sincere condolences to the Nigerian people, and especially those who lost family and loved ones.”

The BBC said French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed “solidarity in (Nigeria's)fight against terrorism.”

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said, “Even on Christmas Day, the world is not spared from cowardice and the fear of terrorism.”

According to the BBC UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “These are cowardly attacks on families gathered in peace and prayer to celebrate a day which symbolizes harmony and goodwill towards others. I offer my condolences to the bereaved and injured.”

Israel said it would send medical aid to Nigeria, and that it “condemned in the strongest terms these attacks carried out on Christmas Day.”

The BBC reported the Vatican said attacking a church was “blind hatred” seeking to “arouse and feed even more hatred and confusion.”

President Jonathan, who is a Christian, said “I want to reassure all Nigerians that the government will not relent in its determination to bring to justice all the perpetrators.”

Angry Crowds

The BBC said the first attack, outside St Theresa's Church in Madalla, near Abuja, killed 35 and wounded more than 50.

The church and surrounding homes were badly damaged.

The BBC said Father Christopher Barde told AFP news agency the blast occurred as the Christmas morning service was ending.

“It was really terrible,” he said. “Some (wounded) people ran towards me (saying), ‘Father anoint me.’”

The BBC said crowds grew angry over the attack and the slow response of the emergency services.

According to the BBC Reuters reported that thousands of youth erected roadblocks on the road from the capital to the largely Muslim north, and were tackled by security forces firing tear gas.

In Jos, a blast close to the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church was followed by gunfire that left one officer dead, government spokesman Pam Ayuba told the Associated Press.

The BBC said two explosive devices found in a nearby building were disarmed as military were deployed to the site.

In Damaturu, in the north-east, there were two explosions. One was a suicide car bomb attack on a convoy of the State Security Service. BBC correspondents reported that four people were killed there, including the suicide bomber.

There was also an explosion in the nearby town of Gadaka.

Damaturu and Gadaka are both in Yobe state, which has been the epicenter of violence between security forces and Boko Haram militants. The BBC said more than 60 people have died in fighting there this week.

The BBC said a spokesman for Boko Haram, Abul-Qaqa, told local media it carried out the bomb attacks.

Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden,” wants the imposition of Sharia law.

The BBC said the group carried out an Aug. 2011 suicide attack on the UN headquarters in Abuja, in which more than 20 people were killed.

It was also responsible for a string of bomb blasts in Jos on Christmas Eve 2010.

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Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City." Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available athttp://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net.

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** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Al Qaeda Cell in Turkey Accused of Planning to Bomb Churches

Indictment reveals Christian targets in Ankara, along with Parliament and U.S. Embassy.

By Barbara G. Baker

 

ISTANBUL, December 9 (Compass Direct News) – A large-scale Al Qaeda plot to bomb “all the churches in Ankara,” as well as the Turkish Parliament and U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital, was made public today.

 

In an exclusive splashed across the front page of the daily Taraf newspaper, contents of an official indictment against 11 alleged Al Qaeda militants arrested in July revealed the homegrown terrorist cell’s alleged plans to attack Ankara’s churches as well as their Christian clergy.

 

Prepared and filed by the Special Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara, the 50-page indictment outlined the militants’ revised “jihad” strategy to begin focusing their attacks against Turkey before waging war against the United States and other countries.

 

“It is more advantageous to wage jihad against Turkey than the United States,” documents seized in the July 14 raid near Ankara reportedly declared. “Let’s blow the Parliament into the sky!”

 

Quoting from deciphered CDs and other materials, the indictment noted that the extremists reportedly referred to Turkey as a “war zone,” labeling the Turkish government as “apostates” and calling the Turkish state “Satan.”

 

Among the CDs, detailed maps, sketches and building diagrams, police also discovered lists of the names and home addresses of Christian clergy and other church workers residing in Ankara.

 

The news took Christian leaders in Ankara by total surprise, according to one Turkish Christian leader in Ankara.

 

“No one has had any news about this until now,” he said.

 

In addition to chapels on Ankara’s British, French, Vatican, Italian and Greek embassy grounds, the capital city has several international churches as well as a handful of Turkish Protestant congregations.

 

According to Taraf, police investigators were tipped off to the militant cell’s activities by citizens living outside Ankara who filed a claim that their son had been kidnapped by Al Qaeda. Police reportedly tracked one of the suspects for six months before nabbing him a week before the others.

 

Starting from the city of Bursa, a branch of Turkey’s Anti-Terror police began investigations in various municipalities that resulted in the arrest of suspects last July in a duplex apartment in Sincan, a town on the outskirts of Ankara. Video footage found at the scene indicated the men had undergone training in the use of Kalashnikov rifles.

 

Police seized 700 kilos (1,500 pounds) of explosives, along with assault rifles, ammunition, bomb-making instructions and detailed maps of Ankara.

 

According to documents summarized in the indictment, Al Qaeda leaders strictly forbade the members of the cell to enroll in Turkey’s required military service, recognize the authority of Turkish courts, send their children to public schools, perform Muslim prayers under the leadership of state-salaried prayer leaders or vote in national elections. Those who disobeyed were warned they would be punished.

 

Further guidelines noted in the suspects’ diaries came from their leaders in Afghanistan, instructing them how to conduct themselves if arrested: “Stay relaxed under interrogation, refuse to accept charges by giving reasonable answers, and do not provide any information regarding the community.”

 

Although Al Qaeda’s violent interpretation of Islam receives little public backing in officially secular Turkey, Ankara admits that “dozens” of Turks have received training in Afghanistan.

 

The 2003 bombings of the British Consulate, a British bank and two synagogues in Istanbul that killed 58 people were attributed to Al Qaeda-affiliated operatives. A 2008 attack also blamed on Al Qaeda left three assailants and three Turkish policemen dead outside the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul.

 

In 2010 Turkish authorities made several mass arrests of suspected Al Qaeda members and sympathizers, indicating a significant support network for its cause within Turkey. But terrorism experts have maintained that the local group focused mainly on fundraising and recruitment in Turkey for jihad activities overseas.

 

In a related development, Istanbul authorities confirmed today that police were searching for three identified Al Qaeda extremists and five other individuals involved in a $3.5 million heist from a Turkish businessman’s bank account.

 

According to Aksam newspaper, the militants used false identities and bribed bank employees to steal the funds, designated to support the Al Qaeda cause. Four bank employees have been arrested in what police said was one of the first “fiscal terrorism” operations in Turkey.

 

www.compassdirect.org

 

END

 

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Copyright 2011 Compass Direct News

 

Muslim Extremists Destroy Lives, Church Buildings in Nigeria

One woman, three girls killed as northeastern states of Yobe, Bauchi heat up.

By Obed Minchakpu

 

The blood-stained home of Samaila
 Darabo in Gargari, Bauchi state.
(Courtesy Compass News Direct)

GEIDAM, Nigeria, December 2 (Compass Direct News) – In Nigeria’s increasingly dangerous northeast, Muslim extremists in this town in Yobe state helped members of the Islamic terrorist sect Boko Haram destroy five church buildings last Saturday (Nov. 26), while previously in neighboring Bauchi state Islamic radicals killed four Christians, including three girls.

 

Boko Haram members’ weekend rampage in the Yobe state town of Geidam destroyed all Christian-owned businesses, as area Muslims pointed them out for the sect raiders, according to local Christians. Five of the eight church buildings in town were ruined, and the violence displaced about 700 Christians, sources said.

 

When Compass visited the town on Tuesday (Nov. 29), only two of the eight pastors in the town remained. The other six pastors and their families had fled.

 

The Rev. Amos Ajeje, 48, vice chairman of the Geidam chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Compass that local Muslims assisted Boko Haram members in carrying out the attacks on Christians. He said the attack by Boko Haram, which seeks to impose a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) than that already in place in northern Nigeria and expand it to the rest of the country, had driven all other Christians from town.

 

Ruined interior of the Deeper Life
 Bible Church in Geidam, Yobe state.
(Courtesy Compass News Direct)

“There are no more Christians in this town,” Ajeje said. “All shops belonging to Christians have been looted and then destroyed by these Muslims. Many of these Christians who fled into bushes when the attack was going on have never returned.”

 

The Rev. Bitrus Mshelbara, pastor of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) at Geidam, confirmed that local Muslims led the Boko Haram members to the church buildings and Christian-owned businesses.

 

“The Muslims in this town were going ‘round town pointing out church buildings and shops owned by Christians to members of Boko Haram, and they in turn bombed these churches and shops,” he said.

 

Destroyed in the attack were worship buildings belonging to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Emmanuel Anglican Church, Living Faith Church, Deeper Life Bible Church and Cherubim and Seraphim Church. These buildings were located in the Geidam areas of Kafela, Akodiri Street, and Low-Cost Housing Estate.

 

“Boko Haram members came in a convoy of cars last Saturday at about six o’clock in the evening,” Ajeje said. “They were well-armed. They attacked the police station. They exchanged gunshots with the police and overpowered them. After this they broke into the First Bank and removed money there, before they were joined by Muslims here to bomb churches. That is how the five churches were destroyed.”

 

Because of the attack, the three remaining churches in town were unable to hold worship services on Sunday (Nov. 27), he said.

 

“Our church members who ran away when the attack took place could not come back, so it was not possible for us to conduct worship services on Sunday,” Ajeje said. “Our fate is hanging in the balance because we do not know what will happen next.”

 

Pastor of an Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) congregation of about 120, Ajeje added that Boko Haram members set fire to a local government building and the town’s high court.

 

Ajeje’s ECWA church building was among the three remaining in Geidam.

 

“We thank God that no one was killed, but I must say that this has brought fear to Christians since we are a minority here,” he said. “In all we just have about 700 Christians in the town, and all are dependent on their small businesses to survive. With these businesses now destroyed, how will they survive if they remain here? I guess that must be the reason they have not returned since fleeing the town on the day of the attack.”

 

Mshelbara told Compass that his COCIN church building is standing only because of the pleas of a Muslim neighbor boy.

 

“My church was spared because of a son of my Muslim neighbor who was among the local Muslims that accompanied Boko Haram members as they burned down churches,” Mshelbara said. “He pleaded with them not to set fire on our church because burning down our church will affect their house, as their house shares walls with our church building. More so, our neighbor the Muslim was sick and was in his house at the time. Based on the pleas of the young Muslim man, our church was spared.”

 

At Emmanuel Anglican Church, Mshelbara said, a church program was underway at the time of the attack.

 

“But they were alerted, and they all escaped by jumping over the fence constructed around the church premises before Boko Haram members got there – you can see the destruction yourself,” Mshelbara said, pointing at the charred church building.

 

Christians at the Deeper Life Bible Church in the Low Cost Housing Estate area also escaped, he said.

 

“Deeper Life members were holding an evening service, too, when the attack by Boko Haram was going on,” Mshelbara said. “They too were alerted, and they all escaped from the church before it was destroyed.”

 

Peter Mgoni, secretary of the Geidam ECWA church, said the Muslims looted shops and churches before burning them.

 

“Boko Haram is an anti-Christian movement out to establish sharia in Nigeria,” he said. “This is the reason they attack churches, just as they attack government institutions. They know that they cannot establish sharia without first crippling the government, and that is the reason they attack the police, after which they now come for us Christians by destroying our churches and businesses.”

 

Gargari Killings

In neighboring Bauchi state, 48-year-old Samaila Darabo called the members of his household together for the evening family devotion in Gargari village on Nov. 17. He led them in the reading of the Bible and prayer, and shortly afterwards they went to bed.

 

At about 2 a.m., he was suddenly awakened by his barking dogs. He stepped out of his room only to be confronted with bright lights from different directions around his compound. Stunned, he blindly pushed away part of the mud-brick walls closest to his room. Climbing over the fence and bolting out, he escaped to alert other neighbors about a raid on the village.

 

The assailants were later identified as local Muslim extremists who came in groups to attack the village on Nov. 18. Darabo’s escape and warning are credited with saving the entire community except for some family members in three residential compounds. Darabo lost his 12-year-old daughter, Laraba Samaila, and his wife, Rifkatu Samaila. She was 48.

 

In another home, the Muslim extremists killed 11-year-old Gloria Zakka and 7-year-old Martha Zakka, daughters of Zakka Jumba, Darabo’s brother. After attacking these and another residential compound of the Christian community in Gargari in the Bogoro Local Government Area, the assailants withdrew.

 

Six other people were injured in the attack, including relatives of Darabo’s other brother, Harunna Jumba.

 

“I climbed a fenced wall just beside the door to my room, and in the process a part of the wall collapsed with me,” Darabo said. “The collapsing wall forced some of the attackers to move away from the spot, and this gave me the opportunity to escape.”

 

After alerting neighbors, they quickly contacted soldiers in nearby Gobbiya village, he said.

 

“By then, the attackers had already left, having set fire on my house and that of my brothers,” he said. “They killed my wife, Rifkatu, and my daughter, Laraba. They also attacked some of my family members with machetes and shot them too. My brother had two of his daughters, Gloria and Martha killed. That is the grave where we buried the four of them you are seeing over there.”

 

Receiving hospital treatment from injuries sustained in the attack were 2-month-old Matwi Mathias, Esther John, Rebecca Zakka, Yelshi Zakka, Sarauniya Samaila, and Mummy Zakka.

 

Aminu Gida, 38, told Compass that he was awakened by sounds of gunshots and the cries of children and women that night.

 

“The men who attacked us are Muslims whom we know live just across the river north of our village of Gargari,” Gida said. “They came in groups that night and started the attack from the western part of the village.”

 

Yakubu Lawal, 58, said attacks on Gargari village began as far back as 1991 and have become more regular. This year alone, he said, the community has been attacked about four times.

 

“The first attack was on June 28, when at about 10 a.m. six Christian girls from the village who were returning from their farms were attacked by a group of Muslim attackers,” he said. “They took one of the girls away and raped her in turns before leaving her to die in the bush.”

 

The girl survived and was found days later, he said. Two young Christian men were also attacked the same day while working on their farm, and the assailants also stole two cows, Lawal said.

 

The second attack on the village, Lawal said, came on July 6, when seven members of the community returning from Bogoro town were ambushed by another group of Muslims.

 

“Three of them were killed – Yohanna Godiya, Appollos Godiya and Rhoda Gashon,” Lawal said. “The remaining four were injured in the attack – the wife of the village pastor, Mrs. Talatu Karmus, and Rahila Gashon and Ruth Gashon. The fourth victim of the attack was a 6-month-old baby.”

 

On Oct. 8 at about 8 p.m., four members of the Christian community were returning from the neighboring village of Gobbiya when they were attacked by another group of Muslims, he said. They escaped unhurt, but before the Muslims withdrew from the village they set fire to the house of Joseph Ezekiel.

 

Ishaku Gambo, 58, pastor of the village COCIN congregation, told Compass the attacks have crippled worship. The church had an average attendance of about 200 at Sunday services; now only about 105 show up, he said.

 

“The reason is that some members have to keep watch over the village while church service is going on,” he said.

 

Gambo urged the Nigerian government to urgently find a lasting solution to attacks on Christian communities in northern Nigeria.

 

Another Village Attacked

In neighboring Tudun Wada Gobbiya Kazar village, Christians have been forced to flee, with more than 60 residents now living in Gobiyya town as displaced persons, Christians said.

 

Tudun Wada Gobbiya Kazar village was last attacked on Oct. 1, when its Christian village head, Bitrus Ramako, was killed. A member of the local ECWA in Gobbiya, Ramako was killed at about 10 p.m., area Christians said. Muslim assailants set fire to his house after killing him and then raided the entire village, forcing the Christian villagers out, they said.

 

Solomon Jingina, 41, pastor of the ECWA Church in Gobbiya, told Compass the displaced Christians are living outside their village without any form of assistance. Jingina said there is an urgent need for the Nigerian government to intervene.

 

“These 60 members of my church are now homeless, and they cannot return to the village because of the incessant attacks on them,” he said. “I want to appeal for the Nigerian government to address this problem of attacks on Christians, as this is threatening the peaceful co-existence of the people of this country.”

 

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END

 

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Copyright 2011 Compass Direct News