by Michael Carl
Fifty members of a northern Nigerian church were burned to death in their pastor’s house.
The attack by armed gunmen was only the first in a 12-village spree of violence that left over 100 dead in northern Nigeria’s Plateau State, a region that had previously been outside Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram’s operational area and is the largely Muslim Fulani tribesmen’s homeland.
Yet Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attacks and threatened even more violence.
Open Doors, USA spokesman Jerry Dykstra says the recent wave of attacks is rapidly turning Nigeria into a deadly religious battlefield, where Boko Haram is declaring Christians must convert … or die.
“Nigeria is truly becoming the new killing field for Christians. Hundreds of Christians have already been brutally murdered – including women and children – by the Boko Haram,” Dykstra said. “The Boko Haram earlier this week said that all Christians need to turn to Islam or ‘they would never know peace again.’ Their goal is make all of Nigeria a country run and dominated by Shariah law.”
Church of Christ of Nigeria officials report that all of their denomination’s church buildings were burned to the ground in the 12-town rampage.
Plateau State is home to the nomadic and largely Muslim Fulani tribesmen, the group that some Nigerian security officials say was originally blamed for the attack.
Nigerian criminal justice consultant Innocent Chukwuma is reported as saying the logistics suggest that Boko Haram could not have acted alone.
“I don’t think that Boko Haram could, out of nowhere, have raided these villages. They couldn’t do that without local support and collaboration,” Chukwoma said according to the report.
Fulani spokesmen denied responsibility and had no response to a potential alliance with Boko Haram.
Heritage Foundation Africa analyst Morgan Roach leans against Boko Haram’s involvement because of the Fulani tribe’s violent track record.
“Attacks on Christian villages are not new in Plateau State, as Fulani tribesmen are known to have raided Christian communities in the past,” Roach said.
Roach says because Plateau State is out of Boko Haram’s normal territory, she tends to agree with Nigeria’s security officials. She also says these church burnings are a deviation from the terrorist group’s typically advanced methods.
“Should Boko Haram be responsible, this would deviate from its past tactics, which have tended to be more sophisticated,” Roach said.
Fifty members of a northern Nigerian church were burned to death in their pastor’s house.
The attack by armed gunmen was only the first in a 12-village spree of violence that left over 100 dead in northern Nigeria’s Plateau State, a region that had previously been outside Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram’s operational area and is the largely Muslim Fulani tribesmen’s homeland.
Open Doors, USA spokesman Jerry Dykstra says the recent wave of attacks is rapidly turning Nigeria into a deadly religious battlefield, where Boko Haram is declaring Christians must convert … or die.
“Nigeria is truly becoming the new killing field for Christians. Hundreds of Christians have already been brutally murdered – including women and children – by the Boko Haram,” Dykstra said. “The Boko Haram earlier this week said that all Christians need to turn to Islam or ‘they would never know peace again.’ Their goal is make all of Nigeria a country run and dominated by Shariah law.”
Church of Christ of Nigeria officials report that all of their denomination’s church buildings were burned to the ground in the 12-town rampage.
Plateau State is home to the nomadic and largely Muslim Fulani tribesmen, the group that some Nigerian security officials say was originally blamed for the attack.
Nigerian criminal justice consultant Innocent Chukwuma is reported as saying the logistics suggest that Boko Haram could not have acted alone.
“I don’t think that Boko Haram could, out of nowhere, have raided these villages. They couldn’t do that without local support and collaboration,” Chukwoma said according to the report.
Fulani spokesmen denied responsibility and had no response to a potential alliance with Boko Haram.
Heritage Foundation Africa analyst Morgan Roach leans against Boko Haram’s involvement because of the Fulani tribe’s violent track record.
“Attacks on Christian villages are not new in Plateau State, as Fulani tribesmen are known to have raided Christian communities in the past,” Roach said.
Roach says because Plateau State is out of Boko Haram’s normal territory, she tends to agree with Nigeria’s security officials. She also says these church burnings are a deviation from the terrorist group’s typically advanced methods.
“Should Boko Haram be responsible, this would deviate from its past tactics, which have tended to be more sophisticated,” Roach said.
