Nigeria : Ten Christians slaughtered

Ten Christians were slaughtered December 1, 2012, in the city of Chibok in northern Nigeria, according to French daily La Croix. “The attackers came around 9 pm, chanting ‘Allah Akbar” (God is great) (…) They entered marked homes in an predominantly Christian neighborhood to slaughter ten people like sheep,” one of the local authorities, who remained anonymous, told the Agence France Presse.

“The attackers were numerous. They entered carefully selected houses and they murdered ten people,” confirmed Ezekiel Damina, a resident of the Myan suburb on the outskirts of Chibok. “Who other than members of the Islamic group Boko Haram could enter houses and cut the throats of ten people,” was the accusation of another authority, who specified that the murderers “chose to hack their victims.” Witnesses also said the attackers set some houses in the neighborhood on fire.

Two policemen were also killed December 2 during an attack presumed to be Islamic in which three churches and some frontier posts were set ablaze, in the area of Gamboru Ngala, in the country’s northeast.

The Nigerian army is in constant conflict with Boko Haram. The group originally described themselves as “the community of disciples for the propagation of holy war and Islam” (Jama’atu Ahlul Sunna Lidda’awati Wal Jihad) and is now known by the initials BH for Boko Haram, ‘book’ in pidgin English and ‘forbidden’ in Arabic, an expression that refers to the rejection of teaching perverted by Western culture. Its stronghold is in Maiduguri, located 170 km from Chibok. Christians have been targeted by the group for several years. More than 40 Christians were killed on Christmas Day last year in a series of murders organized by the group. Easter 2012 also became a day of mourning when a bomb exploded near a church in the centre of the country, causing 20 deaths. In total, there have been 3000 deaths since 2009, caused by violence attributed to Boko Haram and its repression.

Nigeria has 160 million residents and is both Africa’s most populated nation and its largest source of oil. Its internal divisions result from a predominantly Moslem north and a predominantly Christian south.

(Sources: kipa-apic.ch – afp.com – DICI no. 267, 21/12/12)

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