By Leone Grotti
More than two thousand evacuated Christians in the North of Nigeria rallied together the other day to protest against the government, in Jos, the capital of the State of Plateau. Gathered in front of the “Church of the Brothers”, they accused the government of not doing anything to stop Boko Haram, which is devastating the north of the country.
“11 THOUSAND CHRISTIANS KILLED”. Daniel Kadzai, president of the youth sector for the Christian Association of Nigeria, stated “ We have lost confidence in the federal government.” According to the daily newspaper Daily Post: “We have information that Boko Haram has already killed 11,213 Christians. And that information doesn’t include the attacks in Mubi, Maiha, Kong and Gombi.”
"POGROM”. As of today: “1.56 million people have been evacuated because of the terrorists. We have been let down by the international community – Kadzai continues – since it has refused to deal with the pogrom of the Christians. Their attention is focused only in Iraq, Gaza and Afghanistan, as if the dead of Nigeria were not human-beings.”
ISLAMIC CALIPHATE. Boko Haram has already captured more than 10 important towns in the northern States of Borno and Adamawa, setting up an Islamic Caliphate and surrounding Maiduguri. In the last few weeks they had also taken the towns of Mubi and Chibok, where 276 girls were kidnapped in April. In the last few days the Nigerian Army, together with a group of “vigilantes” were able to take control again of the two urban centers, but the population does not trust the soldiers and so far have refused to return to their homes.
DESTRUCTION AT MAIDUGURI. As reported by Fides, the balance of the destruction caused by Boko Haram in the diocese of Maiduguri, which includes the States of Borno, Yobe and some areas of Adamawa, is the following: more than 2,500 Catholic killed, 100,000 Catholics evacuated, 26 priests out of 46 working in the evacuated dioceses and more than 200 girls kidnapped. Also, more than 50 parishes have been destroyed, forty of them have been abandoned and occupied by Boko Haram. Out of 5 convents four have been abandoned and a large number of Catholics have been forced to convert to Islam against their will.
“TRAPPED CATHOLICS”. According to Father Gideon Obasogie, “a large number of Nigerian Catholics are trapped and forced to follow the strict interpretation of Sharia laws in several cities like Bama, Gwoza, Madagali, Gulak, Shuwa, Michika Uba e Mubi. We are talking about small towns situated along the road that connects Maiduguri and Yola to the State of Adamawa. The terrorists have declared that all of the captured towns are part of the Islamic Caliphate”.
