Islamic Terrorism Shutters Nigeria Churches

Victims of post-election violence at a hospital in Kaduna, Nigeria on April 20. Muslim rioters burned homes, churches and police stations after Nigeria’s Christian president beat out his closest Muslim opponent. (AP Images/Sunday Alamba)

Christians in northern
Nigeria’s Borno state, already forced to abandon worship services due to
attacks by Islamic sect Boko Haram, are bracing for a massive assault
to commemorate the death of the extremists group’s leader at the end of
the month.

Christians are streaming out of Maiduguri,
about 540 miles northeast of the Nigerian capital of Abuja, where some
of the worst-hit churches are located. Churches are shutting down as
many of their members have lost their lives in attacks that have not
ceased even after security agencies were enlisted to confront the
assailants.

Compass witnessed most church buildings were
shuttered and guarded by soldiers and police in the Maiduguri areas of
Wulari-Jerusalem, Railway Station, Bulunkutu, Damboa Road, and Bayan
NNPC. Some churches bold enough to open were compelled to reschedule
their worship services in order to outmaneuver militants who knew that
most services start at 10 a.m.

“As you can see, the town
is unsafe, and it is just appropriate for any church leader to be
reasonable and safe,” a pastor with the Apostolic Church who declined to
give his name for fear of attack told Compass. “We took the decision to
hold a one-and-a-half-hour service earlier than our usual time so that
our people can return home in time because of the threat.”

Church
leaders said The Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) in Maiduguri’s
Bulunkuttu area and the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in the
Gomari area have seen attendance at worship drastically reduced – from
2,250 to 759 for the Living Faith Church, and from 500 to 240 for the
COCIN body.

In early June the Islamic sect attacked St.
Patrick’s Catholic Church in Maiduguri twice, killing a total of 10
people in bombings on June 1 and June 7.

“The Islamic
bombers, driving in a Honda car, stormed the church in the afternoon of
that fateful day and threw the bombs into the church premises,” said
police spokesman Abdulahi Lawal of the June 7 incident.

A
Catholic priest at the St. Patrick’s Catholic Church who requested
anonymity told Compass that the attack of June 7 took place in
mid-afternoon, with about 50 members gathered inside.

The
Rev. Yuguda Mdurvwa, chairman of the Borno state chapter of the
Christian Association of Nigeria, told Compass that besides St.
Patrick’s and the COCIN church, churches attacked in Maiduguri include a
Church of the Brethren (EYN) and several others. He said CAN leadership
has directed churches to either suspend or reschedule their church
services due to the dangers.

On the afternoon of June 16,
Boko Haram militants attacked a Church of the Brethren congregation in
Damboa, about 87 kilometers (54 miles) from Maiduguri, killing four
persons.

Declaring Jihad
Members of
the Jama’atu ahlus Sunnah lid da’awati wal Jihad, popularly known as
Boko Haram, have claimed responsibility for these church bombings and
other attacks. Moreover, the Islamist sect that has declared jihad on
the Nigerian government is reportedly expected to launch a terrorist
offensive at the end of this month, the two-year anniversary of the
death of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf.

Nigerian security forces captured Yusuf on July 30, 2009, and the next day he was dead under mysterious circumstances.

Religious
freedom analyst Elizabeth Kendal wrote in her Religious Liberty
Monitoring blog that in June 2010, that Boko Haram formalized its links with
Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Kendal notes that terrorism
analyst Yossef Bodansky predicts this development could lead to the
emergence of large-scale terrorism, including suicide bombings, unknown
in Nigeria.

Kendal notes, Nigeria’s Saturday Tribune reported on
July 9 that the government is expecting more than 100
jihadists trained in Sudan and Somalia to lead the terrorist assault
planned for the end of the month. The jihadists, who reportedly received
training from AQIM, would lead attacks planned for Borno as well as the
northern states of Katsina, Kaduna and Yobe.

Boko Haram has issued statements to media organizations asserting the desire to impose its extremist version of sharia
(Islamic law) on all of Nigeria. Sharia is already in force in 12
northern states, where Christians are supposed to be exempt but are
often compelled to comply by various sectors of society. Borno state,
where Boko Haram has its base, is one of the states implementing Islamic
law.

After the death of Yusuf, the extremist Islamic sect
has been led by Abu Zaid, who last October claimed responsibility for
bombing churches in Borno state. Zaid told the Hausa-language service of
the BBC and Voice of America at that time that the group attacks as a
means of pressuring the government to allow Islamic law in Nigeria.

Dr.
Abdulateef Adegbite, secretary-general of the Nigerian Supreme Council
for Islamic Affairs, said Muslim leaders did not support the activities
of Boko Haram, and that they were finding it difficult to reach out to
the militant sect. He pleaded with members of Boko Haram to put an end
to the senseless killings.

“Our plea is that you cease fire and embrace peace,” he said. “We can’t continue to go on like this.”

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.

Northern
Nigeria climbed to 23rd place in 2010 from 27th in 2009 on Christian
support organization Open Doors’ World Watch List of nations with the
worst persecution.

Church Response
Ayo
Oritsejafor, president of CAN, said he wondered how the militant sect
could continue to carry out deadly attacks on churches in spite of the
presence of security agencies. He said Christian leaders believe the
sect has compromised or infiltrated security forces.

“The
way and manner this is happening shows that some of our intelligence
security operatives have either been compromised, or their rank-and-file
are already infiltrated by members of this Islamic sect,” he said.

The
Rev. Paul Emeka, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God
Church, Nigeria, lamented that the violence of Boko Haram has gone
unchecked.

“They have burned churches and forced many Christians to run away from their homes,” he said.

He
warned that the Muslim militants’ violence could divide the country
along religious lines. Peter Okoduwa, a Pentecostal pastor, concurred,
saying the Islamic sect has infiltrated the ranks of security agencies
and warning that if the government does not take decisive action, the
country’s Christian/Muslim divide will deepen.

Dr. David Oyedepo, bishop of Living Faith Church, said the government needs to step up its prosecution of the sect.

“This
Boko Haram has to be frontally dealt with before they plunge the entire
nation into a very serious crisis,” Oyedepo said. “The federal
government should deal with the issue tactfully before the sect sets the
entire nation ablaze. Those behind the crisis should be fished out and
dealt with and there should be no sympathy for them.”

The
Rev. Ladi Thompson, coordinator of the Macedonian Initiative, a ministry
to Christians facing persecution, said Boko Haram has plans to attack
more churches in the months ahead, putting Christians under more
pressure, unless the government takes immediate steps to strengthen
security.

Church leaders said they are aware that the
Islamic sect could be an offshoot of Al Qaeda and are urging Nigerian
security agencies to rise to the challenge.

President
Goodluck Jonathan has admitted that the attacks were carried out by the
Islamic terrorist group that has declared war on the nation.

“Everybody
is a target when it comes to terrorist attacks,” Jonathan told media.
“Terrorists will aim at the top. If they can bomb the president, they
will do it.”

Nigeria has created a military task force
headed by Maj.-Gen. Jack Okechukwu Nwaogbo to hunt down members of the
Islamic sect. Nwaogbo told journalists in Maiduguri on June 27 that
authorities had arrested two members of the sect carrying explosives to
bomb a church in the city. He explained that these members of Boko Haram
pretended they wanted to convert from Islam in order to gain access to
the church building and bomb it.