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The head of Christian Solidarity Worldwide has called upon the Nigerian authorities to urgently review security arrangements for the volatile Plateau State after another deadly attack on Christians last Friday. Ten people, including children, are believed to have been killed in the attack on Mazah village by Fulani Muslims in the early hours of Friday morning. The attackers frightened villagers out of their homes by firing gun-shots before hacking them down with machetes as they attempted to flee. They also burned homes and churches to the ground. CSW said the attackers focused on important residents in the village, attacking the homes of the local councillor, the village head and a church leader. Villagers claim that although security forces arrived at the village in time to stop the attackers, they stood back and remained outside the village until the attack had come to an end before entering. Pray: that God would equip His saints and put His protection around them. (Eph.6:10-18)
Nigerian forces have killed 35 suspected Boko Haram members in a crackdown on the insurgent group in the north eastern city of Damaturu, Yobe State the country's military says. ‘The Joint Task Force has succeeded in killing 35 Boko Haram terrorists in shootouts between Sunday evening through Monday,’ said Lieutenant Lazarus Eli, a military spokesman in Yobe, of which Damaturu is the capital. A round-the-clock curfew was imposed in the city late on Saturday, ahead of the operation that also led to the arrest of 60 suspected Boko Haram members. The curfew has been relaxed and residents are now allowed out of their homes from 7:00am to 10:00pm, Eli said. The ban on movements in Yobe's economic capital of Potiskum has also been eased. Military forces went door-to-door through three Damaturu neighbourhoods beginning late on Sunday and engaged militants in ‘a fierce exchange of gunfire’ through to the early hours of Monday morning, the spokesman added in a statement.
Pray: for success for the authorities as they seek to control the Boko Haram insurgents. (Pr.10:11)
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/09/2012924205430561216.html
Nigeria was labelled a potential emerging economic giant by BBC Radio 4’s Today program’ when Evan Davis and Newsday's Nkem Ifejika interviewed entrepreneurs. However ‘the country still faced fundamental issues with an infrastructure that remains a problem to the nation's economy.’ Problems with power and electricity have been solved but education was still a problem with the entrepreneurs saying it was necessary for businesses to ‘invest in future staff’. They also added the corruption had become ‘a cultural thing’. Outside the cities thousands have died in tit-for-tat ethnic violence blamed on land disputes between semi-nomadic Muslim Fulani herdsmen and mainly Christian Berom farmers in zones where Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north meets its Christian-majority south. The most recent barbarism resulted in 30 dead, dozens of houses torched, cattle killed or taken away by Hausa-Fulani herdsmen in the Riyom area.
A suicide bomber has attacked a church in Bauchi, northern Nigeria, killing a woman and a child and injuring 48, according to the Red Cross. Police said the bomber's car was stopped at the gates of St John's Church where he detonated explosives packed inside the vehicle. Bauchi has often been targeted by the Islamist Boko Haram group, which wants to impose Sharia law across Nigeria. Sunday attacks on churches took place regularly earlier this year. Doctors in Bauchi warned that many of the injuries were serious and the death toll could rise. Speaking at a nearby hospital, Bauchi Deputy Police Commissioner T. Stevens told journalists: ‘The situation has been brought under control. We have our men minding all areas.’ Attacks in central and northern Nigeria blamed Boko Haram of haveing killed some 1,400 people since 2010.
Pray: for a spiritual breakthrough in Nigeria that would lead to a ceasing of terrorist activities. (Ps.7:9)
The death toll for the Christmas Eve bombings in central Nigeria and the Christian-Muslim clash that ensued has risen to at least 80 people. Police initially said 32 people were killed in the coordinated bomb explosions in Jos on Christmas Eve. The latest death toll includes those killed in the connected conflict between Muslim and Christian youths on Sunday in central Nigeria. Another 100 people were wounded and are in the hospital. On Christmas Eve, two bombs exploded near a busy market where people were Christmas shopping in Jos, the capital of Plateau state. Another blast occurred in a predominantly Christian neighbourhood and a fourth bomb exploded near a road leading to the main mosque in Jos. Sectarian violence is nothing new to residents of Jos, who earlier this year endured a massacre that left more than 500 people dead. Jos lies in the middle of Nigeria, where the Muslim north meets the mainly Christian south. Pray: for the people of Nigeria that God would break through and bring peace to this divided nation.And for grace and wisdom for Archbishop Ben Kwashi as a peacemaker. (Mt.12:25) More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/nigeria.christmas.violence.death.toll.rises.to.80/27298.htm
Christian militants MEND (The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ) threatened to attack Muslim targets in response to bombings carried out by Boko Haram. Targets would be mosques, hajj camps, Islamic institutions, large congregations in Islamic events and assassinations of clerics that propagate doctrines of hate. However Mend has appeared increasingly fragmented in recent months. The group behind the current threats is believed to comprise disgruntled militants who have turned against the amnesty agreed between Mend and the Nigerian government in 2009. ‘We are on the cusp of something imaginable happening.’ said Tolu Ogunies a journalist and witness to attacks on Muslims in southern Nigeria. This new round of proposed violence is codenamed Operation Barbarossa. (Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union)
Pray: for threats of murder and violence to be replaced by peaceful stability and helpful diplomacy. (Ps.43:1-4)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/16/nigerian-christian-retaliation-islamist-attacks
Muslim herdsmen and soldiers killed at least 45 ethnic Berom Christians in Plateau state in the past week. Smaller attacks beginning on Nov. 20th over allegations by Fulani Muslims of cattle theft preceded an attack on a church on Nov. 23rd killing four Christians, and an assault the next day left 35 Christians dead. Thousands of Christians are fleeing because they have no guns with which to fight back against aggressive Muslims with guns. Nearly all Christians have fled to Jos or have left Plateau state. In Thursday's attack the Fulani Muslims were shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is greater). Alhaji Kasimu is one of leaders of the Muslim community in Barkin Ladi responsible for arming Muslims to attack Christians.
Pray: for the thousands of displaced Christians to know God’s provision and protection and for security agencies to take the necessary steps to check violence. (Ps.71:1-4)
More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/nigeria/article_123658.html
In the aftermath of the recent presidential election hundreds of Christians were killed and hundreds of churches and Christian business were burned down or destroyed. Now, with the death of Osama Bin Laden, Christians across northern Nigeria are bracing themselves for possible reprisal attacks by Muslim extremist who are opposed to Bin laden's death. Church members have received anonymous text messages warning them of an impending attacks due to Osama's death, and reports are coming out of five northern states that some Muslims are planning to demonstrate against the death of Bin Laden. Northern Nigerian Christians have always been at the receiving end of violence when Muslim extremists feel they have been offended.
Pray: against sadistic acts of vengeance against Christians. (Ps.20:1)
Part of a press statement by the Overseas Fellowship of Nigerian Christians based in England sent commiserations to the family of Drummer Lee Rigby stating, ‘Our prayers are with Amy Rigby, their young son, wider family and friends as they grapple with this dastardly act. May our good LORD comfort them in their sorrows. This cowardly and cold-blooded murder of a British icon in the locale of an established military base was intended to strike fear into our hearts and break the bands that unite us as a peaceful nation. This is characteristic of the violent agenda of the proselytized adherents of these fringe groups in their grandiose belief that such carnage and unjustifiable acts glorify a just and merciful God. We utterly deplore the barbaric actions of these unscrupulous individuals who would not hesitate to invoke darkness on their motherland on the altar of self-glorification. We are deeply saddened at the recent revelation that the perpetrators are British of Nigerian extraction.’ For the full press release click the more button
Pray: for divine intervention and human vigilance to defeat the agents of terrorism. (Ps.77:14)
As Nigerian terrorist attacks continue, citizens are blaming the government for failing to protect them and asking why President Goodluck Jonathan is not doing more to save the Christians under attack by Islamist extremists. These latest calls mark a stark reverse of public opinion for President Goodluck Jonathan, hailed as Nigeria's Barack Obama when he took office in May 2010, promising to bring change and prosperity. Jonathan, a Christian and whose middle name Ebelechukwu means ‘God's Mercy’ admitted that members of his government might have sympathies toward Boko Haram, the Islamist terror group attacking churches and government offices. Citizens are so angry with these revelations that they have taken to the streets carrying mock coffins and placards calling him ‘President Badluck.’ Journalists are saying the President ‘has come across as clueless when it comes to dealing with Boko Haram.’ President of the Christian Association of Nigeria decried the government's failure to protect Christians from attacks and accused some security agents of taking sides. (See Prayer Alert 04-2012)
Pray: that ‘God's Mercy’ will be poured out over Nigeria and for the present situation to be turned around. (Ps.10:12)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/violence.puts.pressure.on.nigerias.president/29207.htm