NIGERIA – Churches on high alert amid rising extremist threat

A very interesting post from http://www.releaseinternational.org/ about tensions in Nigeria. This follows this post about Hugo Chavez. This follows this previous post about him consolidating his power.This follows this article about the recent news about the former ban on offshore drilling which would encourage American energy independence and prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran   and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and read this very interesting book HERE!

NIGERIA – Churches on high alert amid rising extremist threat




Christians are fleeing the northern city of Maiduguri amid threats of further, larger-scale attacks by Islamist extremists.



Most churches in the Borno state capital have been boarded up and are under police or military guard as rumours spread that Boko Haram militants are planning a 'massive attack' at the end of the month. The widely anticipated assault would mark the two-year anniversary of the death in police custody of the extremist group's founder, Mohammed Yusuf.



Compass Direct news agency reports that church attendance in Maiduguri has fallen dramatically following a series of bomb attacks on churches there. Leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria have advised churches to suspend or reschedule services. Several have changed service times to try to outwit potential attackers.



Release partner Stefanos Foundation reports a series of bomb attacks in the city on Tuesday, with targets including at least two churches. 'It is difficult to estimate the number of dead or injured, as people are presently on the run,' our partner said.



Violence has escalated since attacks began in the run-up to April's elections. In early June, ten people died in two attacks on St Patrick's Church. Pastor David Usman and church secretary Hamman Andrew were killed by Boko Haram militants on June 7 (Prayer Alert, June 13, 2011).Then on June 16, four people died in an attack on a Church of the Brethren congregation in Damboa, 54 miles from Maiduguri, Compass reports. Several other churches have been attacked.



Boko Haram has also been blamed for other recent attacks further afield, including the attack last weekend on the All Christian-Fellowship Mission in Suleja, Niger state, in central Nigeria. Three people died and seven others were seriously injured in the Suleja bombing (Prayer Alert, July 12, 2011).



Church leaders fear that unless this extremist threat is tackled, it could deepen the divide between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. 'This Boko Haram has to be dealt with before they plunge the entire nation into a very serious crisis,' a church leader in Maiduguri told Compass Direct.



For more information about religious persecution in Nigeria, please click here: Nigeria country profile



(Sources: Compass Direct, Stefanos Foundation)



• Pray that Christians in northern and central Nigeria will focus on God and know that their help comes from the Lord (Psalm 121:1). Ask God to protect churches and Christian homes.

• Pray for wisdom for state and federal governments in Nigeria in tackling this extremist threat. Pray that they will take firm action to end the violence.

NIGERIA – Pastor killed amid rising Islamist militancy in Borno

A very interesting post from http://www.releaseinternational.org/ about Islamic persecution in Nigeria. This follows this post about a Muslim ice cream man in Philadelphia. This follows this post  about Miss USA 2010 and this article about the recent news about the former ban on offshore drilling which would encourage American energy independence and prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran   and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and read this very interesting book HERE!

NIGERIA – Pastor killed amid rising Islamist militancy in Borno




Extremists shot dead a Nigerian pastor and his secretary in the north-eastern town of Maiduguri which is beset by increasing Islamist militancy.



Pastor David Usman and church secretary Hamman Andrew were killed in the Borno state capital by Boko Haram militants who have been blamed for several recent bomb attacks. The attacks have been widely interpreted as a protest against April's national elections which returned Christian incumbent Goodluck Jonathan to power.



A bomb attack on an army barracks in Maiduguri on May 29 killed 15 people and a series of seven bombs on June 7 included an attack on St Patrick's Church which killed three people. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on the Plateau state capital, Jos, on Christmas Eve (Prayer Alert, December 29, 2010).



Another pastor in Maiduguri, Rev Titus Dama Pona of the Evangelical Church Winning All, told Compass Direct news agency that recent violence had left Christians in fear of their lives.



'We no longer feel free moving around the city and most churches no longer carry out worship services for fear of becoming targets of these unprovoked attacks,' he said.



Pastor David, 45, described as a gentle and jovial man, was shot in an area of Maiduguri called the Railway Quarters, where his church is based, on June 7. He had reportedly raised the problem of Boko Haram with his superiors and commented that the Government needed to do more to stamp out this threat.



This was the second time Boko Haram had targeted Pastor David's church, a Church of Christ in Nigeria congregation. In July 2009, militants set fire to their building and killed several church members.



Boko Haram is committed to extending strict Islamic law or Sharia across Nigeria and has regularly targeted officials – including politicians, military personnel and police – as well as Christians. It rejects democratic institutions, which it sees as based on Christian values, according to Compass Direct.



On June 6, Boko Haram killed Ibrahim Birkuti, a moderate Muslim cleric who had criticised the group. He was shot dead outside his home in the town of Biu, some 120 miles south of Maiduguri, according to the BBC.



(Sources: BBC, Christian Today, Compass Direct)



• Ask God to bless and comfort the grieving families of Pastor David Usman and Hamman Andrew. Pray that their deaths will not be in vain.

• Pray that moderate Muslims will stand up against the extremist activities of Boko Haram – and against Islamist extremism generally which so often targets Christians.