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Nigeria

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December 20, 2006   Urgent: Nigerian Church under immediate threat

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September 22, 2006   Violence in Dutse, Northern Nigeria, following Pope's statement

At least ten churches were set alight and Christian homes and businesses were looted on Tuesday 19 September, during rioting in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa State in Northern Nigeria. The attacks are believed to have been a reaction to the reports of the Pope’s recent Regensburg address, though other rumors are also circulating.

Nigerian Church leaders had feared such an outbreak would result from the outcry which followed the Pope’s comments. When a rumor started circulating about a dispute between a Muslim man and a Christian woman in which each had insulted the other’s religion, local representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria visited the local police station to warn them of a possible outbreak of violence. They asked for the police to deploy to forestall the violence, but the police did not respond.

Bishop Kwashi of Jos told Anglican Mainstream “Only about three churches out of about 15 are still standing in the town”. The Churches which were burnt down included St Peter’s Anglican Cathedral, Assemblies of God, three Evangelical Church of West Africa churches and Living Faith church. The Anglican Bishop, Rt Rev Yusufu Lumu, had to seek shelter in a local police station along with his wife and three children when his home was partially destroyed in the violence.

The violence started at 8.30 pm on Tuesday 19 September and only subsided late Wednesday evening. According to local sources, the police were not deployed until the violence had already subsided.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide Advocacy Director, Alexa Papadouris, says: “This latest episode of religious violence serves to highlight the underlying tension in the region. Despite the indications of violence in the area, the police failed to intervene to stop these attacks. We call upon the police authorities in Dutse to assist in restoring calm to the city and to ensure the safety and protection of all citizens at this time. We also call for the speedy compensation of churches and businesses destroyed during this violence.”

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November 22, 2004    Message of reconciliation from former religious enemies

Two Nigerian religious leaders who were once on opposite sides of the religious conflict are now working together for peace. One lost his arm and the other his two brothers, as a result of the conflict that has claimed more than 10,000 lives since 1999.

Imam Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa and the Reverend James Movel Wuye, both from Kaduna in northern Nigeria , are joint directors of the Kaduna Muslim-Christian Mediation Centre.

In one recent project, they brought together pairs of Christian and Muslim youth leaders from 30 of Nigeria 's states for a five-day workshop for peace. The 60 participants studied religious texts, aired their grievances against the other faith community, and in the end developed a shared commitment to promote peace between the two religious communities, particularly among young people.

In Kaduna state, the 'Shar'ia' riots of 2000 and 'Miss World' riots in 2002 led to more than 2,500 deaths and the destruction of millions of dollars of property. A fragile peace exists today.

The Imam's brothers and his spiritual leader were killed in the violence. The minister had his arm cut off by extremists at the same time as his bodyguard was murdered.

Imam Ashafa said: "Where hate is not transformed it is transferred. I am a fundamentalist - I make no apology for that - but taking extremism into life is wrong and brings tears to so many hearts. The attitude of 'if you are not with me, you are against me', leading to no respect for other cultures or tradition, is a wrong perception."

Rev Wuye added: "I hated Muslims and could kill a Muslim at any time. We are very, very religious and can die for our faith. With this background of hate, we mobilized people to eradicate others. We have programmed young people to hate each other and now we want to deprogram them."

Imam Ashafa was moved to change his hatred for Christians when he heard teaching in his mosque about forgiveness. He then visited Rev Wuye's sick mother in hospital and began the process of working together.

Rev Wuye said: "I held him responsible for the loss of my hand and bodyguard and I never forgave him. I felt fear - I was bonded before. At one time, I was tempted to take a pillow and suffocate him. Then during a meeting, I was told 'You must go with love'. I was blinded by hate as many back home are, but now with all my heart, mind, soul and strength I wanted to work with him. That was the start of my journey."

Imam Ashafa said: "There is power in your ability to use faith. It is the strongest nuclear weapon. You can use religion and spirituality to reconstruct the world. The UN should take religious leaders to show them how to make peace in the world. Religion is a power to save the world. We have to go without hate in our hearts against any human being. People hide under the cover of religion to commit atrocities - they use the power of negativity, but there is a lot of positivity within the spiritual medium to make the world a better place.

"We must put our hearts together to make sure Nigeria is peaceful. Muslims and Christians must work together - you can see the evil that's happening around the world - we need to keep Nigeria in peace."

Baroness Caroline Cox, President of CSW, chaired a panel to summarize recommendations from the conference. She said: "Peace and freedom are indivisible. We can't have peace if people aren't living in freedom. We have a duty to use our freedom on behalf of those living in conflict. You can't have reconciliation and reconstruction without keeping them in parallel. You also have to work at a local level."

The meeting was hosted in Kennington, south London , by the Nigeria Reconciliation Group (NIREG), a London-based NGO that seeks to mobilize Nigerians in the UK to engage in addressing the challenging issues currently facing the country.

At the event, Anglican Nigerian Chaplain, The Reverend Canon Ben Enwuchola said: "When I first met my Muslim brother it was a struggle for me, but when my spirit connected with his it felt right. The two of you are hope for our country tomorrow. You give us hope for the religious and tribal conflict in Nigeria and a recipe for the whole world."

Afterwards, he said: "The conference was organized to challenge the Nigerian diaspora to take conflict resolution seriously as a necessary tool in building a better Nigeria . Since independence, Nigerian society has been dogged with various ethno-religious crises so the establishment of peace becomes very important if we are to go forward."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

In 1999 the two keynote speakers co-authored 'The Pastor and the Imam: Responding to conflict', which describes their experiences and illustrates Biblical and Qur'anic approaches to peace.

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October 22, 2004   Sharia court sentences Nigerian woman to death for adultery

A Sharia court sentenced a young Muslim woman to death for becoming pregnant out of wedlock earlier in October.

Hajara Ibrahim from Bauchi state, central eastern Nigeria , had confessed to having had a physical relationship with a man named Dauda Sani, whom she claims had promised to marry her.

Mr. Sani denied this and, since Ms Ibrahim did not have four male witnesses to support her contentions, he was acquitted due to lack of evidence. Abubakar Bello, the presiding judge at the court in Lere, Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area (LGA), deemed Ms. Ibrahim to be a divorcee and, as a consequence, found her guilty of adultery. This carries the mandatory sentence of death by stoning. Judge Bello added, however, that the sentence was subject to the approval of the Governor of Bauchi.

Ms Ibrahim was released into the custody of her family pending the birth of her child.   Her family have appealed against the sentence at a higher Shari'ah Court . They maintain her marriage was never consummated and that as a single woman Ms Ibrahim should have been charged with fornication, which carries a lesser sentence of flogging. Ms Ibrahim is the fourth person to be sentenced to death in Bauchi under the Shari'ah penal code. 20 others are awaiting amputations.

Meanwhile a group of Christian nurses have been banned from holding worship services after receiving death threats from Muslim militants. 

The nurses at the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, Nasarawa state, central Nigeria , received the threat in a letter from a group calling itself 'Islamic Fundamentalists'.

The undated letter to the Fellowship of Christian Nurses (FCN) said it was 'making it abundantly clear that our thirst for your heads/blood is mounting daily if you continue with your worship services in the hospital unabated'. 

The hospital authorities also received a copy of the letter, but took no action to address the threat made against the lives of the nurses.  Instead they issued a letter on July 19 indefinitely suspending all Christian related activities at the Medical Centre.  Moreover, according to the news agency Compass Direct, at a subsequent meeting between the FCN and the authorities, the nurses were informed that the FCN itself was also being banned indefinitely.

In a comment to Compass Direct, Christiana Shiaki, secretary of the local chapter of the FCN, said the Christian nurses were facing religious discrimination. The fact that hospital authorities have built two mosques for Muslim employees using public funds would appear to validate this. Ms Shiaki said: "We have done nothing wrong to deserve this."

Elsewhere in Nigeria , Borno State in the far north east again experienced an attack by the militant Al Sunna Wal Jamma group or 'Taliban'. On October 8 a vehicle carrying 60 policemen exploded in the town of Kala-Balge when insurgents fired at officers as they attempted to free it from deep mud.  Three police officers died at the scene and several others were injured.  12 remain unaccounted for and are presumed to have been taken hostage by the militants.  In September the group attacked the towns of Bama and Gwoza in Borno State , and it had previously carried out raids in Yobe State to the west of Borno during January.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Nigeria has experienced increased religious tension and violence since 1999 when 12 of the 36 states of Nigeria began to institute the Sharia penal code in defiance of the federal constitution.

A series of violent clashes culminated in the deaths in May of thousands of non-Muslims in northern Muslim-dominated Kano .

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September 28, 2004   CSW calls for prayer on October 9th for Nigerian Christians murdered by Islamic militants

More than a dozen Christians were killed and seven kidnapped when members of a militant Islamic sect raided towns in Borno State in the north of Nigeria .

Members of Al Sunna Wal Jamma, a group also known as the Taliban, are reported to have carried out the raids on the towns of Bama and Gwoza on September 20. The group had launched similar raids on towns and villages in neighboring Yobe State during January, but had been defeated by the Federal armed forces. Those who survived and avoided capture, had fled across the border.

During the recent violence, 60 members of the sect are reported to have attacked police stations in Bama and Gwoza killing four policemen, including a police Area Commander.

According to news agency Compass Direct, the group went on to attack Christian communities, killing, raping and burning down homes. A police spokesman confirmed that 14 bodies had been recovered from areas targeted by the raids, but that there may be many more victims. Enquiries into the whereabouts of the kidnapped Christians are ongoing.

In a separate development, a Christian teacher from the northern Nigerian city of Kano has gone into hiding after deeply offending her pupils.

According to the BBC, the teacher told off a teenage girl earlier this month for not concentrating and threw the book she was reading onto the floor.

Unfortunately it was part of the Koran. Naturally, this provoked an angry reaction from the students. An Iman from a nearby mosque pleaded for calm after an agitated crowd gathered outside the school on September 23. However, all the school's teachers fled as they feared a repeat of the violence which erupted in Kano earlier this year. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) thousands of non-Muslims  were killed in violence that broke out in response to the killing of Muslims in Plateau State , central Nigeria .

Christian Solidarity Worldwide campaigns for peace and religious freedom in Nigeria , a country which has seen more than 10,000 lives lost in inter-religious violence since 1999. As well as being a voice for Christians in northern and central Nigeria who feel their plight is either disregarded or misrepresented by the international media, CSW also gives practical assistance to those who have suffered. Please join us in praying on October 9th especially for the victims of this violence and their families. Pray for sweeping change through Nigeria, peace and justice.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

A local news source reported that grief stricken relatives had converged on the mortuary of Borno Specialist Hospital in the aftermath of the recent attacks.

As the Nigerian police force and army launched a joint operation against them, the insurgents took seven people hostage and retreated to the Mandara mountains straddling the border between Nigeria and Cameroon . One of the hostages managed to escape, but two others are reported to have been murdered, and their bodies were thrown down a mountainside.

On 24 September Borno State Police Commissioner Ade Ajalaiye announced that 27 of the militants had been killed and that the joint force had retrieved a number of items including weaponry, ammunition, walkie talkies and documentation.  He added that the Cameroonian security forces  had arrested five of  the militants and their extradition was being sought.

Nigeria has experienced increased religious tension and violence since 1999 when 12 of the 36 states of Nigeria began to institute the Shar'ia penal code in defiance of the federal constitution.

A series of violent clashes culminated in the deaths in May of thousands of non-Muslims in northern Muslim-dominated Kano .

These clashes erupted after non-Muslim youths attacked Muslims and their properties in Yelwa, Plateau State on May 2,  causing at least 100 deaths. This in turn was in retaliation for ongoing attacks on non-Muslims, including an attack on a church on February 23 in Yelwa, where 48 Christians were murdered in the building and dozens more outside. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at least 1,500 Christians were killed in the violence in February, and by March 2, all non-Muslims had been driven out of Yelwa and only one church was left standing.

The violence in Plateau and Kano also led to an escalation of religious tensions in other parts of Nigeria . In the northern state of Bauchi, Christians received threatening letters warning them to leave the state.

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August 5, 2004   Nigerian nurses reinstated after refusing to wear Islamic dress

Eleven nurses fired from their jobs in Bauchi State , Nigeria, for refusing to exchange their nurse's uniform for the Islamic dress of trousers and veil, have been reinstated by the federal government. 

The 11 work at the Federal Medical Center in Azare in Bauchi, one of 12 out of 36 Nigerian states which has enacted the Shar'ia penal code. This has created a de facto state religion in defiance of Nigeria 's secular federal constitution.

The reinstatements come as a relief to the nurses, who along with their families had suffered considerable hardship during their lengthy period of unemployment. To pressure them further, the Bauchi State Government also withdrew contracts and terminated the employment of their spouses.  As a result, many were forced to withdraw their children from boarding schools.

Supported by, amongst others, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, the Bauchi Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and the local Christian NGO, the Macedonian Initiative International (MII), the nurses appealed unsuccessfully to the Medical Center and later to the Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State which dismissed their appeal on July 26th.

The government's decision to reinstate the nurses brings to an end a dispute that began in 2002, when the Center's new medical director, Dr Sabo, issued a directive ordering all nurses to wear Islamic dress. Several Christian nurses objected on religious grounds, citing a verse in the book of Deuteronomy forbidding women to wear male attire.

The Medical Center responded by indefinitely suspending all of the nurses, a move that intimidated many of them into returning to work.  However, the 11 continued their protest and were fired on April 24, 2002.

In 2003 CSW President, Baroness Cox visited Bauchi in a private capacity at the invitation of the MII to highlight the continuing plight of the nurses.  On receiving news of the reinstatements she said: "This is a very important step for the affirmation of religious freedom and tolerance and the right to professional practice according to one's fundamental professional principles."

Although its proponents insisted that Shar'ia is applicable to Muslims only, non- Muslims in Shar'ia states suffer discrimination and are often compelled to comply with Shar'ia strictures. Since 1991, Bauchi's Christian population has regularly suffered armed violence.  In one episode, on June 18, 2001, local Jihadists backed up by militants from the neighboring republics of Chad and Niger , attacked and destroyed a Bible school in Tafawa Balewa.  There then followed regular incursions and attacks which, according to CAN Bauchi left over 200 Christians dead and millions of naira worth of property destroyed. More recently, following the deaths of up to 100 Muslims in Yelwa, Plateau State , letters were circulated ordering Christians to leave Bauchi by May 14 or face the consequences. However, this time the state government forestalled violence by sending members of the security forces to protect Christian areas.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Religious violence has claimed some 10,000 lives in Nigeria since 1999.

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May 19, 2004   State of emergency in Nigerian state after hundreds of lives lost

President Obasanjo of Nigeria yesterday declared a state of emergency in Plateau State after inter-religious violence claimed hundreds of lives.

The president also suspended Governor Joshua Dariye and the State House of Assembly for six months "at the first instance" and appointed Major General Chris Mohammed Ali as the sole administrator of the troubled Middle Belt state during a televised address to the nation yesterday, in which he invoked Article 305 of the federal constitution.

Many Nigerian Christian organizations feel that the move against Plateau state, an overwhelmingly Christian state, is an indication of a growing government bias against Christians. They feel the government has bowed to the pressure of northern emirs and leaders to clamp down on Plateau State and not to take similar action in Kano and other states where violence has also erupted.

The Plateau Youth Council said in a statement: "We are surprised that only Plateau has been singled out for this treatment in spite of worse situations in some parts of the country. The president made references to the crises in Kano...we therefore expected that the same treatment would have been meted to Kano."

While President Obasanjo has not imposed a state of emergency in any other states, he is reported to have warned the governors of Kano, Delta and Lagos of similar consequences if religious and ethnic violence is not brought under control.

The president's actions come in the wake of a series of violent clashes that culminated in the deaths last week of hundreds of Christians in northern Muslim-dominated Kano.

These clashes were provoked after Christian and animist youths attacked Muslims and their properties in Yelwa, Plateau State on May 2, with estimates of people killed during the violence ranging from 300 to 600. This was in retaliation for ongoing attacks on Christians, including an attack on a church on February 23 in Yelwa, where 48 Christians were murdered in the building and dozens more outside. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at least 1,500 Christians were killed in the ongoing violence in February, and by March 2, many Christians had been driven from Yelwa and only one church was left standing.

Between 300 and 800 Christians are reported to have been killed in Kano during a two-day rampage and over 10,000 are reported to have fled their homes.

The violence in Plateau and Kano has led to an escalation of religious tensions in other parts of Nigeria also. In the northern state of Bauchi, Christians received threatening letters warning them to leave the state. Kaduna and Gombe are also reported to be tense. However, tension has heightened in predominantly Igbo areas of Nigeria as news has filtered through of the murder of Igbos in Kano. In a two-page statement, the Igbo Community Association (ICA) asked why Christian and non-Christian Igbos in Kano were murdered in retaliation for Christian-Muslim clashes in Plateau state and demanded compensation for Igbo victims.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

More than 10,000 people have been killed in ethnic and religious violence since the end of military rule in 1999. Nigeria's combined Christian and animist people are about the same in number as the Muslims and live mostly in the south. 12 of the 36 states of Nigeria have instituted the Shar'ia penal code in defiance of the federal constitution.

In his speech on May 18, President Obasanjo accused Governor Dariye of "gross dereliction of duty, incompetence and insensitivity to the situation on the ground", adding that he undertook the action in order to restore "peace, harmony, security for all, and maintenance of law and order throughout Plateau State".

As federal troops moved to seal up the governor's official residence in Jos, capital of Plateau State, local Hausa Fulani Muslims are reported to have taken to the streets in celebration. Christians have expressed surprise at the clampdown on Plateau State. They noted the authorities in Kano and the Delta states had not faced similar actions despite experiencing even greater violence than Plateau State. CAN National President, the Most Reverend Peter Akinola, appealed to Christians throughout the country to remain calm and prayerful, adding that CAN would be holding an emergency meeting to look into the constitutionality of the federal government's actions.

There has been chronic violence in southern Plateau state since July 2002, when Hausa Fulanis attempted to drive the largest Christian tribe, the Tarok, from the Wase area. Some 5,000 were killed, approximately 100,000 people were displaced and at least 88 Christian villages were destroyed in the Wase Local Government Area during an orgy of violence that the State government seemed powerless to stop. During each of these attacks, survivors spoke of the presence of Hausa Fulanis from the neighboring republics of Chad and Niger among their attackers, and remarked that the attackers possessed weaponry superior to that of Nigeria's armed forces. In a statement commenting on the violence, CAN's Kano branch, "condemned the brutal attitude of some Muslim policemen who intentionally and indiscriminately shot and killed many Christians in Sabon Gari and other parts of the state". CAN also alleged that in an effort to hide the true number of casualties, the state government had thrown the bodies of victims into a local river and given several others a mass burial.

Attempts by the State government to bring peace to the area have achieved little. On April 27 it was reported that at least 20 people had died in three days of fierce fighting in Shendam. Reports of violence between Muslims from Ibi council and Christians and animists from Langtang south, which left 120 people dead and over 20,000 displaced came on April 30. Six villages are reported to have been completely destroyed in the clashes. Reliable local sources state that Muslims also attacked Christians and animists in Timshat, Karkashi, Timbol, Gidanbua and Rawaya. Then, on May 1 and 2, Christian communities in Tumbi, Kawo and Kurgwi were also attacked. It was after these attacks that Christians and animists launched the now infamous attack on Yelwa in an attempt, as they perceived it, to free the area from tyranny.

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May 13, 2004   Outbreak of religious violence in Nigeria

Dear friends,

We are asking for urgent prayer for Christians in Nigeria where religious war threatens to engulf the north.

Ongoing violence in southern Plateau state flared up once again in February, culminating in an attack by Christian and Animist youths on May 2 during which 600 Muslims are estimated to have died.

The youths are said to have launched the attack in order to put an end to constant Muslim attacks on their communities. However, far from resolving issues in Plateau State, the attack on Yelwa could instead unleash a religious bloodbath. There has already been retaliatory violence against Christians in Kano, a majority Muslim state on May 11. CSW today received information from sources in Nigeria, including from the Christian Association of Nigeria's Kano Chapter, that confirmed that at least 600 Christians have been killed during violence in the Shagari Quarters, Chalawa, Pan Shakara, as well as in Kumbosto Local Government Area of Kano.

In an indication of the deep animosity unleashed by the Yelwa attack, CNN reported that Umar Ibrahim Kabo, the most senior Muslim cleric in Kano, had described the attacks as being part of 'a calculated global Western war against Muslims, just like Afghanistan and Iraq'. Ominously, Kabo went on to give Nigerian president Obasanjo a seven day ultimatum to apprehend those responsible for Yelwa 'or be blamed for whatever happens afterwards'.

Sources on the ground have also confirmed that letters have been circulated in Bauchi State ordering all Christians to leave the area before Friday (tomorrow). Since 1991, Christians in Bauchi have suffered repeated and brutal unprovoked attacks. Many such attacks in northern and central Nigeria take place following Friday prayers and CSW is deeply concerned for the welfare of Bauchi's Christians at this time.

PRAYER:

 - Please pray for Christian minorities in Bauchi and in other Muslim majority states throughout this Friday, asking God to protect and defend them.

 - Pray that state authorities would take effective measures to protect communities from organized violence, regardless of their religious affiliation.

 - Ask God to comfort those who have lost loved ones and livelihoods at this time.

 - The current situation threatens to engulf the country in religious war. Pray for the peace of Nigeria and particularly, of Plateau state. Ask for God's wisdom for the Nigerian federal government, and that it would take effective action to bring an end to the religious violence and reconciliation between the faith communities

BACKGROUND

There has been chronic violence in southern Plateau state since July 2002, when Hausa Fulanis attempted to drive the largest Christian tribe, the Tarok, from the Wase area. Some 5,000 were killed, approximately 100,000 people were displaced and at least 88 Christian villages were destroyed in the Wase Local Government Area during an orgy of violence that the State government seemed powerless to stop. During each of these attacks, survivors spoke of the presence of Hausa Fulanis from the neighboring republics of Chad and Niger among their attackers, and remarked that the attackers possessed weaponry superior to that of Nigeria's armed forces.

Attempts by the State government to bring peace to the area have achieved little. Recently the low level violence flared up again following an attack on Christians in Yelwa on February 24, during which 41 people were killed and burnt inside a church and 38 murdered outside. Despite the positioning of government forces in the area, Muslims continued to attack Christian areas. The Plateau state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria reported that a total of 1,500 Christians were killed during violence in February.

On April 27 it was reported that at least 20 people had died in three days of fierce fighting in Shendam. On April 30 came reports of violence between Muslims from Ibi council and Christians and animists from Langtang south which left 120 people dead and over 20,000 displaced. Six villages are reported to have been completely destroyed in the clashes. Reliable local sources state that Muslims also attacked Christians and animists in Timshat,

Karkashi, Timbol, Gidanbua and Rawaya. Then, on May 1 and 2, Christian communities in Tumbi, Kawo and Kurgwi were also attacked. It was after these attacks that Christians and animists launched the now infamous attack on Yelwa in an attempt, as they perceived it, to free the area from tyranny.

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April 7, 2004   Nigerian churches burned amid sectarian violence  

Nine churches and five Christian-owned buildings were torched, a police station was damaged and three vehicles were destroyed on Saturday, April 3rd, when violence broke out in the hometown of the Governor of Kaduna State in central Nigeria.

Local sources report the violence erupted in Makarfi town after a local Muslim accused the unnamed son of a recent Christian migrant to the area of having desecrated a Qur'an. Reports state that the young man escaped his assailants with the help of the local police, and was taken into protective custody at the Makarfi Police Divisional Headquarters. However, when a large and angry crowd began to gather outside the building, the police took the young man out through the back door and fled.

The crowd proceeded to attack the police station, smashing windows and destroying two police vehicles and a jeep belonging to the Association of Local Government Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGON). They then went on to set fire to nine churches, two pastoriums, two shops and a Christian home before a mobile police division managed to put an end to the violence. According to local police, three people were injured during the rampage.

In a special broadcast, the Deputy State Governor of Kaduna, Mr. Stephen Rijo Shekari, appealed for calm but warned that the state government would deal decisively with anyone who tried to capitalize on the situation in order to provoke a wider conflict.

During a briefing to journalists held on Monday, April 5th, the State Police Commissioner, Alhaji Mohammed Yesufu, said his men had taken full control of the area, and that peace had returned to the town. He added that the violence had been 'nipped in the bud' by the 'timely intervention' of security operatives.

Commissioner Yesufu also reported that the young Christian who took refuge in the police station is currently in a coma. A widely disseminated but unconfirmed report had described the young Christian as a mentally ill person who had entered an Islamic school and torn up a Qur'an. However, in an apparent contradiction of this report Commissioner Yesufu insisted that the altercation 'had nothing to do with religious problems'.

By Tuesday, April 6th, five people had been arrested, and police were continuing to take others into custody in connection with the violence.

Commenting on the violence in Makarfi, the Kaduna Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) warned that the state had been 'invaded' by a terrorist group that was hiding behind Islam while causing tension in both Christian and Muslim circles, and urged both the federal and state governments to apprehend members of this group before it was too late.

In a significant development CAN reiterated its commitment to peace and reconciliation in Kaduna but also announced its immediate but temporary withdrawal from such initiatives due to doubts over the 'sincerity and commitment to peace' of their Muslim counterparts.

There appears to be a recent trend of violence against Christians breaking out in central and northern Nigeria as a result of unsubstantiated allegations against a solitary Christian accused of insulting the Qur'an, the prophet Mohammed or Islam in general.

In September 2003 a female Christian student at the Ahmed Bello University in Kaduna State was attacked and seriously injured by Muslim students after she was accused of blaspheming the prophet Mohammed. This sparked off a wider incident during which several other students were also injured.

The following month a Muslim gang razed 11 churches to the ground, destroyed at least 100 Christian homes, displaced thousands of Christians and killed an undisclosed number of them in Kazaure, Jigawa State. The stated reason for the violence was that an unidentified local Christian had blasphemed the prophet Mohammed. However, the Jigawa Chapter of CAN retorted that the blasphemy charge was merely a pretext for continuing an orchestrated campaign against local Christians.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Nigeria has seen an increase in inter-religious violence since several northern states began a call for full Shar'ia Law in 1999. 12 of the 36 Nigerian states have now implemented it, and over 10,000 people have died in religious violence since 2000.

Kaduna State has an equal number of Muslims and Christians and has been the scene of some of the worst episodes of Shar'ia related violence. Over 2000 people died and over 60, 000 were displaced in religious violence between

February and May 2000. In September 2002, 120 churches in and around Kaduna were burned down and over 300 people were killed in violence that followed the publication of an article in a Lagos-based newspaper that was deemed to have insulted the prophet Mohammed.

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March 8, 2004   Christians axed to death in Nigerian church 

A total of 48 people were hacked to death in Yelwa, Nigeria, by armed Muslims, many during a church meeting. 

A recent upsurge in violence in southern Plateau State in Nigeria has claimed at least 100 lives and in the worst single incident so far, at least 48 people were murdered, many during an early morning prayer service on February 24. 

Armed Muslims invaded the service, ordered the congregation to lie face down and proceeded 'to machete and axe them to death in their house of worship' according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The victims included women and children. 

The Yelwa incident was preceded by an attack on Tunka in Shendam Local Government Area (LGA) during which 18 people were killed, including four mobile policemen who were murdered in an ambush. The deaths of the policemen, who were assigned to the area to maintain peace, caused many to flee their homes. 

A local source told CSW the attacks were being carried out by as many as 400 heavily armed Muslims who shouted 'Allah u Akhbar' (God is great), wore red and black uniforms and moved with military precision. As government reinforcements arrived in the area to stop the violence, the attackers are said to have adopted hit and run tactics, striking Christian areas and moving on before troops could engage them. By February 26 there were reports of similar violence in Shendam Town, Mikang, Langtang South and Langtang North LGAs. There were also unconfirmed reports of reprisal attacks by ethnic Tarohs on Hausa Fulanis. Joint army and police action eventually managed to enforce an uneasy peace. 

In a strongly worded statement of March 2, CAN called on Muslims in northern Nigeria to emulate their western counterparts by living peaceably alongside northern Christians. 

Over 10,000 people have died in religious violence since 1999 when several northern states decided to implement the Shar'ia penal code in defiance of the country's secular constitution. The Wase area of southern Plateau State has experienced intermittent violence since the summer of 2002 when attacks by armed Muslims on the predominantly Christian Taroh tribe left at least 5,000 people dead, 100,000 displaced and over 80 villages destroyed. 

There was a lull in the violence during 2003 when the State Governor, Joshua Dariye, convened local peace talks. However, tensions mounted once again on January 3, 2004, after it emerged the Muslim Emir of Wase, deeply implicated in the violence of 2002, had brought more than 500 Muslim families to the area to settle in towns and villages abandoned by displaced Christians. 

On February 11 the Hausa Fulani delegation responded to a request for a removal of these families by declaring that its members were no longer interested in being part of the peace process, heralding an almost immediate end to the fragile peace in the area. Sources close to Christian NGO Release International confirm that on February 12, 20 youths went missing following an attack by Muslims on the village of Hamale. The sources also report that during an incident on the following day at least 100 people were killed and many houses were destroyed. 

On February 20th Muslims from Bukuru are reported to have attacked a church in Tudun Wada. The attackers are said to have arrived in 13 vehicles. They beat the church's guard and threatened to burn down the building, but their plans were thwarted by police intervention. 

A local source told CSW the violence may ultimately be aimed at undermining a recent decision by the Plateau State Government to allow the area of Kadarko to administer itself separately from the Wase Emirate. Kadarko is the largest of only three Christian areas remaining in Wase LGA following the violence of 2002.

Local sources also indicate the latest violence is part of a campaign organized by a coalition of local and external extremists.

Right Reverend Ben Kwashi, Bishop of Jos, said: "We ourselves are not discouraged. We have outgrown retaliation, vengeance and anger. We are living by the grace of God and encouraging the faithful not to give in. What makes me sad is that as soon as we begin to reconstruct homes, churches and even people's lives, we get shattered again by events such as these. What gives me joy, on the other hand, is that we are not tired and we will continue with fresh zeal as long as there is life to reconstruct, rebuild and develop."

CSW-UK's Advocacy Director Tina Lambert said: "CSW is deeply disturbed by the renewed violence and horrified by the massacre of Christians during a prayer service. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all those affected. 

"We call on the Plateau State Government to guarantee the safety of Christians in southern Plateau State and ensure that those responsible for such appalling violence are swiftly brought to justice."

NOTES TO EDITORS:
Nigeria has seen an increase in inter-religious violence since several northern states began to call for full Shar'ia Law in 1999. 12 of the 36 Nigerian states have implemented full Shar'ia law. Many observers believe the Shar'ia campaign has been engineered by the Muslim northern power elite which had dominated Nigeria's political and military establishments since independence and which felt it had lost power following the election of Christian President, Olusegun Obasanjo. So far more than 10,000 people have died as a direct result of Shar'ia related clashes.

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September 25, 2003   Nigerian mother's successful appeal against death by stoning

Dear Friends

Thank you for your prayers and concern for Amina Lawal, the Nigerian mother of four sentenced to death by stoning for allegedly committing adultery.

Amina's long running court case came to an end today when a split decision at the Shar'ia Court of Appeal in Katsina, northern Nigeria, overturned the initial verdict on the grounds that she had not been given 'ample opportunity to defend herself'.

Praise God for this positive outcome. However, please continue to pray for Ahmadu Ibrahim and Fatima Usman, the young couple from Niger State whose custodial sentences for adultery were changed to death by stoning.

Most importantly, pray for wisdom and decisiveness on the part of Nigeria's Christian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, as he deals with the challenge posed by the unconstitutional institution of full Shar'ia law as the primary source of law in 12 northern states. Pray also for Christians and other non Muslims that suffer discrimination in these Shar'ia states, and for an end to the religious violence that has affected northern and central Nigeria, claiming at least 10,000 lives since 1999 when the campaign for full Shar'ia began in earnest.

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August 28, 2003   Decision on stoning of Nigerian woman postponed

Amina Lawal, the 31-year-old Nigerian mother of three who gave birth to a daughter out of wedlock, was found guilty of adultery by a Shar'ia court in her home state of Katsina in March, 2002, and sentenced to death by stoning.

An appeal launched by the Women's Rights Organization on Amina's behalf was heard by Katsina's highest Islamic court on August 27th. After submissions from the defense and the prosecution lasting over eight hours, the Shar'ia Court of Appeal decided to postpone its final ruling on the case until September 25, 2003, despite the fact that the Grand Khadi (presiding judge) had lamented the unfairness of keeping Amina 'in suspense for so long'. 

Please continue to pray for a swift and positive outcome to this case and for Amina's well being during the extended waiting period. The continuing uncertainty about her has taken its toll. Throughout the lengthy hearing, Amina is reported to have sat with her eyes cast down, and an uncle who accompanied her to the trial informed a BBC reporter that she had stopped eating and sleeping as a result of the strain of the case.

Please pray also for Ahmadu Ibrahim and Fatima Usman, a young couple from Niger State. A court in the central town of New Gawu found them guilty of adultery after Fatima was judged to have become pregnant with Ahmadu's child while married to another man. The couple had pleaded guilty and had initially been given five-year sentences, along with fines of N15, 000 (roughly US$115). However, during a retrial conducted in the couple's absence and occasioned by a protest from Fatima's father at the harshness of the jail term handed to his daughter, the sentences were deemed to have been too lenient and they were changed to death by stoning. 

Continue to pray for a peaceful resolution of the Shar'ia Law issue and for wisdom for President Obasanjo and his government as they deal with the constitutional implications of the institution of full Shar'ia Law by 12 states in defiance of the federal constitution. Pray also for an end to the religious violence that has affected northern and central Nigeria, claiming at least 10,000 lives since 1999 when the campaign for full Shar'ia began in earnest, and for peace and reconciliation between the various religious groups in the country.

Thank you

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June 4, 2003  Update on Amina Lawal, Sentenced to Death For Adultery in Nigeria

A brief update on the case of Amina Lawal, the 31-year-old Nigerian mother of three who gave birth to a daughter out of wedlock, was found guilty of adultery by a Shari'ah court in her home state of Katsina and sentenced to death by stoning.

On Tuesday the Shari'ah Appeals Court in Katsina once again postponed the hearing of the appeal against Amina's sentence. Two of the four judges on the appeals panel were serving on tribunals occasioned by last month's general elections and were therefore unavailable for the hearing. The case will now be heard on August 27, when it is hoped that the two judges will be able to attend.

Please continue to pray for a successful outcome to Amina's case. The continuing uncertainty about her future is beginning to take its toll. After the latest postponement Amina told reporters she was 'anxious' adding that 'only God knows when this will be over'. Pray that God would strengthen, comfort and encourage her and her young family during the intervening months.

Continue to pray for a peaceful resolution of the Shari'ah Law issue and for wisdom for President Obasanjo and his government as they deal with the constitutional implications of the institution of full Shari'ah Law by 12 states in defiance of the federal constitution. Pray also for an end to the religious violence that has affected northern and central Nigeria claiming more than 6,000 lives since 1999 when the campaign for full Shari'ah began in earnest, and for peace and reconciliation between the various religious groups in Nigeria.

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April 11, 2003  Jihad attacks on Non-Muslims in Nigeria Claim Thousands of Lives

Violence in predominantly Christian Plateau State in Nigeria has continued unabated since the first major outbreak in Jos, in 2001 when over 2,000 people are thought to have died in orchestrated inter religious violence. 

Non-Muslim settlements now suffer attacks on an almost weekly basis in what appears to be part of a deliberate attempt to alter the ethno-religious make up of the state in order to facilitate the institution of Shari'ah Law in this key state in the Middle Belt.

Armed Muslims attacked the village of Fobur in Langtang at 2 am on April 4, killing a woman and burning several houses. The group attacked again the following day and is thought to have gone on to raid the village of Zambwar where 30 homes were set on fire. On April 7, it was reported that Wereng village near the Vom suburb of the State Capital Jos had been attacked by armed insurgents.

At least 22 villagers were killed, over 16 were injured and 28 are said to be missing following an attack on the town of Kadarko in neighboring Wase Local Governemnt Area (LGA) on March 18, by armed Hausa Fulani Muslims. 

Survivors of the attack on Kadarko described how they were woken at 5 am by shouts of 'Allahu Akbar' and 'we are going to finish off the infidels'. The attackers used such sophisticated weaponry that members of the mobile police unit assigned to the area to curb the violence was obliged to flee after running out of ammunition. In a worrying development, sources in Kadarko reported that two attackers killed by the Mobile Police had ID cards identifying them as serving military men. Worse still, a police officer wounded during the violence confirmed an armored vehicle assigned to protect the area not only joined in the attack on them but also turned its guns on police and soldiers who tried to defend them.

The attackers are described as heavily armed, numbering up to 2,000 and wearing the white headbands favoured by Jihadists. In an indication of the international dimensions of the violence, they are accompanied by militants from the republics of Chad and Niger. 

The recent intensification of violence in the Wase and Langtang areas occurred in the aftermath of vehement protests by Hausa Fulani Muslims against plans by the state government to create a new LGA with the town of Kadarko as its headquarters. In July 2002 Muslims attempted to ethnically cleanse the predominantly Christian Taroh tribe from Wase LGA, killing over 5000 people, displacing at least 100,000 and destroying over 80 Christian villages in Wase LGA. Kadarko is the largest of only three remaining Christian inhabited settlements in the area. 

Religious violence has claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people since it erupted in 1999.

The sporadic nature of the attacks around Plateau State mean that non-Muslim communities are in a constant state of anxiety and readiness. One Plateau resident spoke of people having to sleep "with one eye open" and another added "the thing is you cannot say where and who will be next". 

There is growing fear that violence in the area will intensify with the commencement of the electoral process on April 12. The violence would be aimed at preventing non- Muslims from casting their vote, thereby facilitating the election of candidates sympathetic to an Islamist agenda. 

Mervyn Thomas, CSW-UK's Chief Executive, said: "We are deeply disturbed by the continuing violence in Plateau State and by allegations that state and federal security forces assigned to quell the violence may instead have been a party to it. We urge the state government to conduct an enquiry into the behavior of the security forces during the Kadarko attack and to ensure that the forthcoming elections are conducted peacefully and fairly."

NOTES TO EDITORS: 

Nigeria is approaching crucial parliamentary, presidential and gubernatorial elections. 

Elections for the federal house of Assembly and Senate take place on April 12, while the presidential and gubernatorial elections will be held on April 19. It is likely that the many presidential candidates will be whittled down to incumbent President Obasanjo, a Christian, and former General and Head of State, Mohammadu Buhari, a Muslim. 

Christians and other Non-Muslim groups in Nigeria fear that if Buhari is elected this may produce conditions conducive to the implementation of Shari'ah law nationwide, leading to discrimination and the mistreatment of non-Muslims.

November 22, 2002  Christians Killed, Churches Burned in Riots Sparked by Miss World Protests

At least one hundred people were killed and 200 injured yesterday as Muslim youths rampaged through the capital of Kaduna State in Nigeria in protest at a newspaper article that was said to have blasphemed the Prophet Mohammed.

Muslim youths arrived in Kaduna city in a convoy of buses bearing Arabic inscriptions which observers suspected of belonging to an Islamic organization. As the day wore on the protest became more violent. Chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great), thousands of youths marched on the Kaduna offices of ThisDay where they proceeded to search for the Chief Correspondent, Mrs. Josephine Lohor. When they failed to find her, they set fire to the office and went on a rampage, attacking at least two hotels and burning down four to ten churches. Non-Muslims were singled out for attack, with several people reported to have been burned, bludgeoned or stabbed to death.

In the article, published in the newspaper ThisDay on November 16, a journalist questioned Muslim objections to the Miss World contest to be held in the federal capital, Abuja, and stated that the Prophet himself would not have been averse to marrying a Miss World contestant had he been alive today.

The newspaper was inundated with calls from Muslims demanding an apology for the offending article. The paper immediately apologized unreservedly, through print and electronic media and during direct talks with key Muslim leaders. 

The Kaduna State government initially instituted a 12-hour curfew, but this has now been extended to 24 hours. A senior police officer at the scene of the burning newspaper offices in Kaduna expressed surprise at how an article written in Lagos should generate such a level of violence in Kaduna. However Nigerian Christian leaders are no longer surprised by such events. There has been growing anger among Muslims about US policy towards Iraq and the Middle East. In the minds of Islamic extremists, the US is viewed as a major Christian country and Christians in Nigeria and elsewhere are targeted for attack whenever the United States is deemed to be threatening Islam.

Bishop Ben Kwashi of Jos, told CSW: "If this is a matter of the newspaper against the Islamic view, then why have four churches been burned down and several Christians been killed? Did the churches sponsor the publication or own the newspaper? What does this have to do with the lives that have been lost? 

"Muslim extremists are looking for an excuse to kill people and they target the church. What continues to baffle us is the destruction that follows each Muslim demonstration even when it is said to be peaceful. If indeed the problem was the newspaper write-up, what has that got to do with the ordinary citizens who probably had no idea of what the whole story was? What has the Church and Christians got to do with the whole saga? Beneath all this is a plan against the Church. It would seem that at the slightest excuse they are looking for a religious fight."

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide-UK, said: "The fact that Muslim youths were bussed into the area and committed these offenses five days after publication of the offending article indicates that these attacks were deliberately orchestrated, and that the understandable anger at a newspaper article was used as a pretext for attacks against Christians and other non-Muslims. Unfortunately such attacks are becoming commonplace in northern Nigeria. A recent fact-finding visit to Nigeria by a CSW team found that far from this being a tribal or inter-ethnic conflict, this is primarily a religious issue, because in every attack, Christians are targeted, usually by Hausa-Fulani Muslims.

"Muslim members of other tribes are left unmolested while Christians and churches bear wave after wave of attack. We call on the Nigerian state and federal governments to uphold the country's constitution and to be steadfast and impartial in keeping the peace."

NOTES TO EDITORS: 

Nigeria has seen an increase in inter-religious violence since several northern states began to call for full Shar'ia Law in 1999. Many observers believe the Shar'ia campaign has been engineered by the Muslim northern power elite which had dominated Nigeria's political and military establishments since independence and which felt it had lost power to Christian President, Olusegun Obasanjo. So far over 6,000 people have died as a direct result of Sharia related clashes.

During a fact finding visit to Nigeria, CSW team members were repeatedly informed by Christian leaders that the violent events in northern Nigeria should not be dismissed as inter-ethnic conflict and be viewed in isolation. They said the violence was being orchestrated by the same forces of radical Islam responsible for the bombing of the Twin Towers in America, attacks on Christian churches and aid workers in Pakistan, and on the nightclub in Bali, Indonesia. 

Christian communities in countries such as Nigeria are held responsible for the actions of the perceived Christian countries of the West. For example, when the United States mounted air strikes against the Taliban in 2001, three churches and a Christian business were set on fire in Kaduna City, and posters of Osama Bin Laden were pasted to the gutted remains. Following this incident a protest in Kano against US involvement in Afghanistan turned violent when Muslim militants invaded the city's Christian quarter. At least 100 people were murdered during the five days of rioting that ensued.

The CSW team also uncovered evidence of orchestrated attacks on Christian settlements in predominantly Christian Plateau State that usually involve gangs of 300 to 600 well armed Islamic extremists, some from Niger and Chad. The attacks appear to be part of a calculated attempt to alter the ethno-religious make up of the state so as to facilitate Muslim dominance and the institution of Shar'ia Law in this key state in the Middlebelt. Christian leaders point out that this is part of a plan to fulfill the wish of the late Sultan of Sokoto who was murdered during Nigeria's first coup, to spread Islam throughout Nigeria and 'dip the Quran into the Atlantic Ocean'.

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November 15, 2002   Christian Woman Forcibly Married then Raped after Shar'ia Law Imposed

A Nigerian Christian girl whose father became a Muslim was raped after being forced to marry a Muslim.

Rakiya, 20, from Bilkawa in Kano State, has been a Christian for ten years, but her father converted to Islam five years ago. Since the introduction of Shar'ia Law in Kano State, he was told that his daughters could not remain Christians.

On two occasions Rakiya, along with her sister Dije, 19, fled from their father's home to the house of a Christian aunt, only returning on the agreement that they would not be forced to become Muslims.

In September 2001 both girls were summoned to meet Muslim authorities and were given the option of choosing Muslim husbands for themselves or being given in marriage to Muslims.

They refused and were moved to Kano, but later fled again to their aunt's house. Their father accused his Christian nephew and the church catechist of being responsible for his daughters' disappearance and the two men were arrested and charged with abduction.

The parish priest, Rev. Isayaku Idi Kano and Canon Musa Haruna were charged with the same offense and all four were held in police custody for four days at the end of March 2002. Their case has gone to the High Court, but the cost to the church could be as high as 1.5 million Nira (nearly US$12,000). 

The girls were returned to their father, during which time Dije escaped. However Rakiya was forced to marry a Muslim and four men dragged her to her new husband's room where she was raped.

Advocacy officers from CSW have just returned from a fact finding visit to northern and central Nigeria where they discovered that the plight of the two sisters is not an unusual occurrence in areas that are predominantly Muslim. In an earlier case a female convert from Niger State was bound hand and foot in a Shar'ia Court, thrown into the trunk of a vehicle and driven by her family to their home village where she was bound to a tree and publicly raped by a prospective Muslim suitor. The lady managed to escape and is now married to a Christian. However, she continues to be in fear for her life years after this event, as some members of her home village still vow to kill her if they see her.

The CSW team also discovered widespread suppression and violations of religious freedoms in Niger State. For example, the only Christian burial ground in the state capital, Minna, is full to overflowing, and grave sites are now being doubled up. However, Christians are denied land for a new burial site. Moreover, churches are often denied both land for building new facilities, and permission for improving existing structures.

Further research uncovered evidence of orchestrated attacks on Christian settlements around Plateau State. These usually involve gangs of 300 to 600 well armed Islamic extremists, some from Niger and Chad, who embark on a spree of killing, looting and burning. The attacks appear to be part of a calculated attempt to alter the ethno-religious make up of the predominantly Christian state so as to facilitate Muslim dominance and the institution of Shar'ia Law in this key state in the Middlebelt. 

Nigeria has seen an increase in inter-religious violence since the northern states began to call for full Shar'ia Law in 1999. Many observers believe the Shar'ia campaign has been engineered by the Muslim northern power elite which had dominated Nigeria's political and military establishments since independence and which felt it had lost power to Christian President, Olusegun Obasanjo. So far over 6,000 people have died as a direct result of Shar'ia related clashes.

It is normally the poor and female who are worst affected by Shar'ia Law punishments as demonstrated by the case of Muslim Amina Lawal. She was sentenced to death for adultery in Katsina State and is due to be stoned to death once her baby is weaned.

CSW  calls on the Nigerian government to uphold the country's constitution and to prevent more injustice and inter-religious tension from spreading.

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September 17, 2002   Bombing of Church in Nigeria on Anniversary of Twin Towers Attack

The government of Plateau State, central Nigeria, has appealed for calm following a bomb explosion at a Christian church that has increased tensions in a region already shaken by inter-religious violence.

The explosion on September 11 at the Church of Christ in Nigeria in the Laranto suburb of the state capital Jos, shook buildings in the surrounding area, causing slight structural damage to the church and covering the entire premises with a thick, dark smoke. So far there are no reported deaths or injuries.

Thousands have died since September last year, when inter-religious unrest first erupted in Plateau State. Until then the state had been largely untouched by the violence that has affected other northern and central states following moves by state governments to impose full Shar'ia (Islamic) law as state law in defiance of the country's secular constitution. Today 12 of Nigeria's 36 states have either adopted full Shar'ia Law or are in the process of doing so.

The latest outbreak of violence in Plateau State began on May 2, when more than 60 people died and property was destroyed during ethno-religious violence in Jos. Over 40 young people were later charged with complicity in the riots. From June to July over 80 villages were destroyed and over 1,000 people were killed during a series of raids on towns and rural settlements in Plateau State. Local sources report that the bodies of victims were mutilated and dismembered by attackers who are said to have been local Hausa Fulani Muslim extremists. The Hausa Fulani are also reported to have been helped by militiamen from Niger and Chad, a fact given added credence by recent local press reports of a clash between armed foreigners and policemen sent to the troubled areas to protect survivors of the violence.

The majority of the victims of the violence in June are reported to have been from the Tarok tribe who are indigenous to Plateau State and predominantly Christian. The Hausa-Fulani migrated to the area from the north and are overwhelmingly Muslim. Over 100,000 people were displaced during the attacks in June and July and are currently in several refugee camps in and around Jos where there is a shortage of both food and medicine. The attacks are thought to be part of a coordinated campaign to alter the ethno-religious balance in this key middle belt state prior to upcoming local and national elections. 

At a peace summit convened to discuss the events that occurred in June and July, delegates identified the emergence of ethnic and religious militias as the source of violence in Plateau State and asked traditional and religious rulers to discourage young people from joining them. However, attacks have continued, with what one local source described as 'silent killings of Christians' occurring in areas designated 'No Go' by Muslims.

Following the bomb attack, the Secretary to the State Government, Ezekiel Gomos, issued a press statement underlining the government's determination to deal decisively with 'any person found to be engaged in such condemnable acts that will breach the peace'. 

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: "This upsurge in violence, particularly on the anniversary of the Twin Towers attack, sends a message of intimidation to Christians in Jos.

"We welcome the State Government's determination to deal decisively with the perpetrators of this violence and to uphold the right of Christians to worship without fear of attack."

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July 18, 2002   CHRISTIANS ATTACKED AND KILLED BY ISLAMIC FANATICS IN NIGERIA

We have received an urgent appeal for our prayers from Bishop Ben Kwashi of Jos following an escalation of violence against Christians in Nigeria. We would ask you to pray for the Church in Nigeria and if you have time, to write to your Congressperson raising your concerns.

Thank you


Bishop Ben writes: "Dear Brothers and Sisters, Peace and greetings. We are asking for prayers for strength, for courage, for protection, for help from God. Only God can help now. In September I asked for your prayers for Jos and for Plateau state. At that time I said that Satan had unleashed hell on us. I was wrong. What he did then was to release only a sting from hell. Now we are having some form of blast from hell. As in Sudan, the church in these areas continues to be lively and fervent in faith in spite of their hardships. Our faith in our suffering is producing much fruit. Even now the congregations that are barely one month old are still kicking and bouncing and zealous for Christ. The aim of the devil is to discourage us and to scare us away from Jesus, but quite painfully we are losing material possessions and hanging on to Jesus alone. In this life we do not have a permanent place here.

"We are facing a new Muslim onslaught. Terror has been released on the majority Christian population of the Plateau. As in Sudan, the church in these areas continues to be lively and fervent in faith in spite of their hardships. Our faith in our suffering is producing much fruit. Even now the congregations that are barely a month old are still zealous for Christ. We are losing material possessions and hanging on to Jesus alone.

"May this letter encourage you as we look out for God's good out of this evil situation. Our faith and absolute trust is in the Lord Jesus."

LATEST NEWS:

Christians in the Plateau State of central Nigeria have been killed and forced from their land by extremist Islamic militants.

Attacks have been mounted against Christians in the area surrounding Jos, leaving several dead and many more wounded and displaced.

Christians in a village outside Jos were roused from sleep by church bells at 5am on a morning at the end of June. When they began making their way to church thinking it was the bell for morning prayers, they were ambushed by Islamic militants from the Hausa and Fulani tribes. Four were killed and 20 injured.

During the last three weeks of June, several churches were burned, shops and homes looted and Christian property destroyed in Yelwa Shendam. Christians were chased out of the town and were forced to take refuge in Jos.

In a separate incident in Wase, Christians were attacked and killed and no church building was left standing. Farmland and crops were destroyed and all the Christians there were forced to flee to Langtan.

Sporadic attacks have also been reported in Berakin Ladi, Vom and Miango, leaving several dead in each attack.

At least a thousand Christians are refugees scattered between Mban, Pil and Langtan, and Christian leaders in the area have organised refugee camps and have recorded evidence of the atrocities.

CSW calls on the Nigerian Government to intervene with sufficient security forces to end these attacks on innocent people.

CSW also calls on local Muslim leaders to be a voice of moderation when confronted by violent provocateurs from outside the region.

NOTES:

Although Nigeria is by constitution a secular state, Muslims in power in the North have been implementing Shari'ah law and seeking to apply it to Christians. 

Christians in Northern cities such as Kaduna have, in the past two years, been attacked and thousands have been killed and their homes destroyed. Until recently, Jos and its surrounding areas were a relatively quiet area where Christians lived side by side with their Muslim neighbors.

ACTION:

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Our Prayers are urgently requested for:-

* The Government, at present concentrating on primaries of local and state elections, that it will intervene strongly with sufficient security forces to end these savage attacks
* God to intervene to bring to an end this ugly trend towards aggressive religious/political violence in Plateau state
* Relief started by the church, in the form of food, clothing, provisions and supplies, to be readily available & reach the refugees soon
* Many to come to personal faith, as the refugee camps become places of revival and missionary outreach
* God to bring good out of evil
* Strength, courage, and protection for Christians in the Jos area, and especially for Bishop Ben Kwashi and his team of ministers as they work
tirelessly to bring aid to those in need and to negotiate peace and security for all in danger

Thank you for your support

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December 4, 2001  Two Christians killed and nine churches vandalized in Nigeria in protest against evangelist's visit

At least two Christians were killed and nine churches vandalized when up to a thousand Muslims went on a five hour rampage in south western Nigeria.

The protest on November 28 in Osogbo was against the imminent visit of German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. 

Osogbo is the capital of Osun, a state dominated by the Yoruba, a tribe evenly divided along religious lines and with a long tradition of religious tolerance.

One of the dead men, a pastor’s son, had been spotted by Muslim youths putting up posters advertising the Bonnke event on the previous day. 

According to eyewitnesses, he was targeted by Muslim assailants who forced their way into the family home, strangled him, and then dragged his corpse a kilometer away from his house. 

The crowd also stormed All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Isale-Aro, but the minister and his family managed to escape the attackers.

The riot was said to have been incited by the Tafsir (the daily Ramadan sermon) of a radical preacher named Alfa Adegbite. Members of Tobliq, an Islamic group from a neighboring state, were reported to have come to Osogbo specifically for the riot. 

Traditional and religious leaders have condemned events in Osogbo. Oba Iyiola Matanmi, the Ataoja of Osogba (King of the Osogbo people), visited the affected area and issued a plea for calm. In an encouraging development which can be attributed to the local tradition of religious tolerance, Alhaji Mustapha Ajisafe, the chairman of the league of Imams and Alfas, disassociated the organization from the incident.

After visiting the vandalized churches the governor of Osun state, Bisi Akande, a Muslim, praised the Christian community for exercising restraint. The governor gave assurances that those responsible for the violence would be brought to justice.

Sheikh Ajisafe, the chief Imam of Osogboland joined the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Bishop Leke Abegunrin, and the local Commissioner of Police in an appeal for calm. 

Local police have moved swiftly to arrest Alhaji Adegbite and have also promised to upgrade security during the Bonnke rally.

Rev Bonnke has held several meetings throughout Nigeria that have been attended by vast numbers of people of all faiths. 

Muslims in Osogbo may have been alarmed by the success of a recent series of five meetings from November 7-11 in the neighboring town of Ibadan. 

Muslim militants in the town marched in protest against both Rev Bonnke’s visit and the US-led military action in Afghanistan. Despite this, Muslim Governor Lam Adesina welcomed the evangelist and requested prayer for the peace and prosperity of Ibadan.

Local authorities were stunned when a crowd of 1.3 million gathered for the largest of the five evening meetings held at the Old Airport site. In all more than four million people heard him speak. 

Rev Bonnke is no stranger to controversy and violent reaction as ten years ago hundreds of people died when Muslims protested against his presence in the predominantly Muslim town of Kano. The evangelist was also forced to cancel a rally in Khartoum in Sudan over Easter, after local authorities withdrew permission for the use of a venue and attempted to relocate the event to an area owned by Muslim militants.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: “We continue to appeal for peace in Nigeria, a country which has seen hundreds of Christians and Muslims die in inter-religious conflict.

“We are extremely grateful for the dialogue which has taken place between the two communities and call on the authorities to ensure the remaining visits of Rev Bonnke are peaceful.”