Bauchi, Nigeria - New attacks on Christians despite curfew

Michael O'Rourke N. Msc sent a message to the members of Christian Solidarity World Wide.



Dear friends,

Attacks on the Christian community of Bauchi State in central Nigeria are continuing despite the declaration of a comprehensive curfew in the state capital.

At least eleven people were killed and over 1,500 displaced, while 14 churches, eight vicarages, one mosque and numerous Christian homes were razed to the ground during a weekend of violence that centred on seven neighbourhoods in predominantly-Muslim Bauchi Town.

The violence erupted after the burning of a mosque in the Railway suburb during the early hours of Saturday 21 February that was blamed on Christians. It is now believed to have been the work of militants seeking a pretext for violence in retaliation for events in November 2008, when rioting Muslims were shot dead for defying a government-imposed curfew in Jos, the capital of Plateau State.

CSW has been informed by local sources that on 13 February, a COCIN (Church of Christ in Nigeria) Church in the Railway suburb of Bauchi Town had requested that worshippers at a nearby newly-erected mosque cease using the church’s premises as a car park. This angered the Muslims, who reportedly threatened to return in large numbers the following weekend “to avenge events in Jos”. CSW was also informed that two weeks prior to the violence, a Cherubim and Seraphim Church was razed to the ground, and that two days prior to the outbreak, a Faith Mission International Church had also been burnt down.

As the violence raged, the Reverend Turde, Secretary of the Bauchi Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), requested the urgent imposition of a comprehensive curfew in Bauchi Town. However, before leaving for Borno State to pay respects for the death of the Shehu of Borno, Governor Isa Yuguda imposed a curfew limited to seven neighbourhoods, consequently allowing the looting and burning to continue elsewhere in the town. Reports indicate that throughout Saturday and Sunday attackers continued to move from church to church and house to house, setting them on fire and attacking their occupants. Despite the eventual imposition of a comprehensive curfew, local sources claim security personnel have not been drafted into the area in sufficient numbers. At least one person is known to have been killed on Monday 23 February, and as reports circulate of “armed men gathering in the bush,” the Christian community fears further attacks.

Many Christians are reported to be fleeing to Jos, in predominantly Christian Plateau State, for safety. Other displaced people are said to be streaming into camps in the army and police barracks in Bauchi Town, where numbers will soon exceed 1500. CSW Nigeria has confirmed that the humanitarian needs in these camps are “significant”.

Chief Executive of CSW Nigeria, Rev Yunusa Nmadu, said: “Christians in parts of northern and central Nigeria are increasingly insecure as it appears that elected officials may be more concerned with serving the interests of one religious group to the detriment of others than with ensuring that every citizen of Nigeria enjoys the rights and freedoms to which we are constitutionally entitled. The continuing killing in Bauchi Town, and the silence of elected authorities in the face of it, does little to dispel this anxiety. It is vital that the state government takes immediate steps to ensure the safety of the Christian community by drafting enough troops to the area to bring an end to the violence, and provides for the pressing needs of those who have lost everything”.

Tina Lambert, CSW’s Advocacy Director in the UK said: “It is of deep concern that despite the imposition of a comprehensive curfew, deaths continue to occur. Most worrying are reports of armed groups that are allegedly gathering for renewed attacks on Bauchi’s Christian community. CSW joins in the call for an immediate increase in the number of security personnel currently assigned to Bauchi Town, and urges the state government to track down and bring the perpetrators of the violence to justice. CSW also calls on both state and federal authorities to ensure that the needs of those who have been displaced by the violence are met and that they are adequately compensated for their losses”.


Keep praying for the persecuted Church.


Yours in Christ,

CSW Advocacy Team

Michael O'Rourke
CSW Church Rep

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) www.csw.org.uk
PO Box 99
New Malden
Surrey
KT3 3YF
United Kingdom

CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.