Nigeria: Boko Haram ‘Plans to exterminate Christians’
As reports come in of yet another attack by Boko Haram against a church in Nigeria, Release International is warning of a growing threat to Christians in that country. This follows statements attributed to militants pledging to ‘eradicate’ Christians.
Members of the Islamist terror group Boko Haram have reportedly attacked a prison, a police station and a church in Kondunga, in north–east Nigeria overnight and this morning (Wednesday).
This latest attack follows statements given to the Egyptian media, attributed to an unnamed Boko Haram spokesman, that the group was determined to ‘eradicate Christians from certain parts of the country.’
The Christian Association of Nigeria has warned that Boko Haram intends to ‘exterminate Christians from Nigeria.’ CAN President Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor told a press conference he feared the potential ‘disintegration of the country’. He called for firm action by the federal government and for peaceful Muslims to rise against the militants.
Egyptian news website Bikyamasr.com claims to have been contacted by a Boko Haram spokesman, who said: ‘We will create so much effort to end the Christian presence in our push to have a proper Islamic state that Christians won’t be able to stay.’
According to Bikyamasr.com Boko Haram planned to launch a kidnap campaign against Christian women. They quoted a spokesman as saying: ‘We are going to put into action new efforts to strike fear into the Christians of the power of Islam by kidnapping their women… We will demand as a ransom that the families leave our Islamic areas.’
The report has yet to be verified, but the Christian Association of Nigeria has warned that Boko Haram clearly intends to ‘exterminate Christians from Nigeria.’ CAN President Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor told a press conference he feared the potential ‘disintegration of the country’. He called for firm action by the federal government and for peaceful Muslims to rise against the militants.
The report that Boko Haram intends to eradicate Christians is consistent with the pattern of attacks by group, which bombed Christian areas in Nigeria over Christmas. Boko Haram is said to have claimed more than 1,000 lives since mid–2009, killing more than 300 so far this year.
Release
contact in Nigeria warns: ‘Christians are no longer safe in the northern part of Nigeria. What began with the segregation and marginalisation of Christians… has now graduated into the suicide bombing of Christians worshippers with a clear intention of mass murder.’
There is also concern that Boko Haram is beginning to gain a foothold in neighbouring Cameroon. Mission Network News reports that Boko Haram spokesmen have been given permission to preach in some mosques.
Release International, which works on behalf of persecuted Christians worldwide, has launched a campaign on behalf of Nigeria’s vulnerable Christian communities. The aim is to focus prayer support for a month.
‘The situation is desperate,’ says Release CEO Andy Dipper. ‘We are calling on Christians to devote a whole month to praying for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria and we urge churches in the UK to make time during their Sunday services to pray.’
Release has produced a prayer guide in the latest edition of Release magazine, which is available for download from the
Release International website
Release is working with partners in Nigeria to provide pastoral and spiritual support to persecuted Christians. It is re–roofing damaged homes and helping Christians whose livelihoods have been destroyed to set up small businesses.