Nigeria: Muslim Extremists Killing Christians in Two States in Effort to ‘Cleanse’ Islamic Land, Entire Christian Families Among Those Killed

“MADALA, Nigeria, September 27 (CDN) — Muslim extremists bent on ridding Nigeria’s volatile middle region of Christianity killed five Christians in Niger state on Thursday (Sept. 22) and three others the previous week in the north-central state of Kaduna, including a 13-year-old girl, sources said.

Suspected militants from the Boko Haram Islamic sect in the Niger state town of Madala went to shops owned by Christians at a market at about 8 p.m., ordering them to recite verses from the Quran, eyewitnesses told Compass. If the Christian traders were unable to recite the verses, the gunmen shot and killed them, they said.

The sound of the gunshots compelled Christians to call police in nearby Suleja, and officers arrived to find five Christians had already been killed. Richard Adamu Oguche, a spokesman for the Niger State Police Command in the state capital of Minna, confirmed that five Christians had been killed.

He told Compass the attack was linked to members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect who have recently bombed Christian sites.

Killed in the Madala market attacks were Sunday Emmanuel, John Kalu, Uche Nguweze, and Oliver Ezemah. The identity of the fifth Christian was not immediately known as witnesses could not identify him.” Read more.

More Than 100 Christians Killed in Nigeria’s Plateau State – “The Christian community in Nigeria’s central Plateau state are anxiously awaiting the arrival of some 1,300 additional riot police following weeks of sectarian violence that reportedly killed as many as 100 Christians. In a statement monitored by BosNewsLife Thursday, September 22, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said he ordered the country’s defense chief to ‘take all necessary actions’ to stop a new round of unrest between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups in Nigeria. Jonathan’s order came after two explosions hit the state’s capital Jos late Sunday, September 18, although there were no immediate reports of injuries. Entire Christian families were among those killed in the latest outbreak of violence.” Read more.