Boko Haram Razed at Least 1,125 Churches Since 2009

T, Belman. If you want to conquer a country and change its culture to yours, look to Islam.

By Edwin Mora, BREITBART

Boko Haram jihadis have set ablaze a total of 1,125 churches and other religious structures belonging to just one Christian denomination in Nigeria since the terrorist group launched an uprising for Islamist rule in the African country in 2009, Rev. Joel Billi, the leader of the victimized group known as the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, reportedly revealed this week.

Anti-riot policemen look at a burnt mud house in Gubio in Borno State, northeast Nigeria, on May 26, 2015. A weekend attack by Boko Haram in the northeast Nigerian town of Gubio left 37 people dead, with more than 400 buildings destroyed by fire, local vigilantes said on May 26. â?¦

Also known as the Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa A Nigeria (EYN) in the Hausa language, the Christian group primarily resides in northeastern Nigeria, home to Boko Haram’s birthplace and primary stronghold.

According to the Daily Post, Billi is urging Nigeria’s federal government to help EYN rebuild the church branches razed by Boko Haram terrorists since 2009.

Daily Post reported:

The EYN says Boko Haram has destroyed a total of 1,125 of its church buildings and other structures over the years of insurgency. These include its headquarters office complex, which has been rebuilt, a church auditorium which is yet to be fully reconstructed, and an adjacent pastor’s residential quarters where reconstructions work is yet to start.

The reverend reportedly expressed anger as he discussed the destruction of his group’s worshiping centers on Tuesday during the 2019 Ministers’ Annual Conference at the EYN headquarters in northeastern Nigeria’s Adamawa state.

He proclaimed:

For how long are we going to wait in vain? We are tired of fictitious promises. Are worship places not included in the rebuilding of the Northeast? Is Adamawa State excluded from the rebuilding of the Northeast? Why are we flagrantly neglected as if we deserve to be punished? If not for the inadequacy of our security forces and political undertone, Boko Haram would not have overrun us. So, why do we pay for the sin that was not committed by us?

Christians, who mainly reside in the southern part of the country, make up nearly half (about 47 percent) of the population of Muslim-majority Nigeria.

The latest World Watch List (WWL) by Open Doors, a group that monitors the mistreatment of followers of Jesus Christ across the globe, recently designated Nigeria (12th) as one of the top 15 worst countries for Christian persecution.

“In parts of northern Nigeria, Christians are treated as second-class citizens. Christians from Muslim backgrounds face persecution from their own families,” the monitoring group noted.

Some Boko Haram jihadis pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in 2015, and in recent years, an ISIS-linked Boko Haram offshoot has been wreaking havoc in Nigeria, targeting Christians.

“Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a deadly group that broke away from Nigeria’s Boko Haram … also enslaves Christian women and girls as an integral part of their strategy,” Open Doors noted.

While Boko Haram remains a threat against Christians, Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region have surfaced as some of the most lethal menaces facing followers of Christ in the African country.

Last month, Dr. Benjamin Argak Kwashi, the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Jos and archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Jos in the Church of Nigeria, told Breitbart News that Fulani herdsmen represented a “bigger threat” to Christians than Boko Haram.

Echoing the bishop, Open Doors noted, “Nigeria’s score for violence has stayed as high as possible, primarily due to the increased attacks on Christian communities by militant Fulani herdsmen. These attacks claimed the lives of hundreds of believers during the reporting period, and villages and churches burned to the ground.”

Muslim-majority Fulani herdsmen and predominantly Christian farmers are clashing over access to land and other resources.

In April 2018, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) urged followers of Christ to rise and defend themselves, arguing that the capabilities of Boko Haram, herdsmen, and other groups exceed that of the nation’s security forces.

Members of CAN reportedly attended Tuesday’s conference in Adamawa state.

January 24, 2019 | 1 Comment »

Leave a Reply

1 Comment / 1 Comment

  1. An equally horrific human rights situation exists in West Papua, where the Islamic INdonesian regime is perpetrating horrific massacres of the indigenous black, mainly Christian population. This racist genocide has been in progress since Indonesia illegally seized West Papua back in 1965, with the complicity of the United States, the UN, and the whole world. From Arutz Sheva today:

    West Papua: Thousands displaced by Indonesia bombing, suspected chem weapons
    Humanitarian crisis in West Papua as thousands displaced escaping bombing and suspected chemical weapons use by Indonesian military.

    Indonesian soldiers carry rifles as they walk towards helicopter to fly to Nduga
    The Indonesian military has since December, 2018 precipitated a humanitarian crisis in West Papua according to local reports. Over the past month, thousands of indigenous West Papuans have been displaced, fleeing air strikes and hiding in the highland jungle without food and water or access to health-care or shelter.

    According to local reports a mother and child have died, and three other children have died of starvation.

    The Indonesian military is suspected to have used the chemical weapon white phosphorus, banned under international law, in West Papua.

    According to reports at least four villages have been attacked from the air, from artillery, and by ground troops.

    The Indonesian army has sealed off the area. Church and local government officials cannot access the area to investigate or help those displaced.

    Major military and police operations have been launched by Indonesia in the Nduga Regency of West Papua. West Papuan representative groups are calling the situation a ‘humanitarian crisis’.

    According to the International Coalition for Papua, an alliance of over 15 human rights, church, and monitoring groups, at least 20 civilians have been killed in the operations so far. Ground troops have been sent into local villages with air support strafing civilian areas.

    According to eyewitness reports gathered by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), the umbrella organization for mass Papuan independence groups, church and school activities in all 32 districts of the Nduga Regency have been completely shut down.

    The ULMWP lists the following human rights abuses during the Indonesian military operation in Nduga:

    6 people shot dead by the Indonesian military;
    3 in critical condition from gunshot wounds;
    2 badly burned from bombs and grenades;
    5 missing;
    4 detained and tortured;
    Congregations from 34 churches still on the run and in hiding due to continuous military operations;
    Thousands of people displaced and hiding in the surrounding jungle.
    The ULMWP has called for an immediate cessation of Indonesian military and police operations and for the Indonesian government to allow humanitarian agencies and human rights monitors to enter the region. For decades the Indonesian government has operated tight restrictions on journalists and NGOs seeking to enter West Papua.

    In a statement released today ULMWP Chairman Benny Wenda said: “Indonesia is violating international law. The use of chemical burn-causing weapons is illegal. Indonesia flouts these treaties in its acts of extreme violence. When chemical weapons are used in Syria the world is horrified, but in West Papua the Indonesian government is able to cover up its crimes by stopping any independent organizations from entering the country and then launch brutal military operations afterwards. This episode is more evidence of the desperate need for West Papua to have freedom from the colonial occupation of the Indonesian state.

    “Without urgent action by international humanitarian, aid and human rights organisations, more Papuan civilians will be at risk. International observers and the West Papua people are lobbying for urgent access to West Papua to provide immediate medical treatment, food aid, medical support, documentation and resources to villagers; and to investigate the illegal use of chemical weapons,” Wenda said.