Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for several attacks on churches

Photo

courtesy of AFP

A BWA human rights team led by BWA Director of Freedom & Justice Raimundo Barreto traveled to Nigeria in early December to meet with government and church leaders

Baptist Pastors KILLED in Nigerian Bomb Attacks

At least two Baptist pastors have been killed and a number of Baptist properties destroyed in violent attacks by extremists in Nigeria.

Olasupo Ayokunle, president and chief executive offi cer of the Nigerian Baptist Convention

The Boko Haram

sect is not using only bombs now, they are using direct shooting of Christians from house to house . . .

(NBC), told the Baptist World Alliance® on November 27, 2012, that the pastors died “in the recent bombing of the chaplaincy at the Command and Staff College in Jaji, Kaduna state.” A third pastor had to fl ee to the south of the country from the city of Maiduguri in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria after threats and assassination attempts on his life. “Many other souls were lost elsewhere in the country,” Ayokunle told the BWA. The attacks were allegedly caused by Boko Haram, a jihadist group that seeks to establish

sharia law in Nigeria, which has claimed responsibility for some of the bombings. The group has carried out a series of bombings against Christian churches and government facilities such as police stations. By early 2012, the group was responsible for more than 900 deaths. In June 2012, almost 200 Christians were killed in at least three church attacks in the states of Bauchi and Plateau, located in northern Nigeria, and Kaduna state, which is in the central part of the country. In one of the most recent attacks on October 3, dozens of persons were massacred in the town of Mubi in Adamawa state during a nighttime raid. BWA General Secretary Neville Callam said, “The BWA is deeply concerned about the

continuing attacks being perpetrated by extremist groups, in many cases targeting Christians. We are especially concerned about the unacceptable situation in Maiduguri, where it has been reported that Boko Haram is directing its aggression against Christians.” The BWA, he said, “unreservedly affi rms peoples’ right to enjoy religious liberty and peaceful co-existence with people of all faiths. We continue to fear that the increasing frequency of eruptions of violence is leading to an increase in the number of casualties that can have a negative effect on the future of Nigeria as a nation.” A BWA human rights team led by BWA Director of Freedom and Justice Raimundo Barreto

traveled to Nigeria in early December to meet with government and church leaders. The trip coincided with the observance of BWA Human Rights Day on December 9. In July 2012, the BWA passed a resolution calling for “a peaceful ending of all violence

and abuse of human rights in Nigeria,” and encouraged “our Baptist sisters and brothers to continue to seek ways to promote peace and respect for all persons in Nigeria.” The BWA appealed to the government of Nigeria at all levels to ensure safety and security for all people in the country and encouraged “Baptists around the world to raise these concerns with their governments, religious leaders and persons of infl uence.” BWA member organizations were requested “to commit to relentless prayer for peace where there is violence in Nigeria.” The NBC has spent more than US$100,000 to provide relief to those affected by the

violence. “The Boko Haram sect is not using only bombs now, they are now using direct shooting of Christians from house to house, especially in Maiduguri, which is their stronghold,” Ayokunle said. “We have never faced this type of selective destruction before. Continue to pray for the church in Nigeria.”

20 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE