A retired pastor from the COCIN (Church of Christ in Nations) denomination was shot dead in his home in Borno State yesterday as he and his family were preparing to attend a Sunday church service. His death came as a police inspector and a politician were gunned down in attacks in Bauchi and Kano States respectively.
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Former Secretary of Christian Association of Nigeria Wins International Religious Freedom Award11/13/2012 The former National Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Engineer Samuel Salifu, has become the fifth recipient of the Stefanus Prize for religious freedom. Mr Salifu received the award during a ceremony in Oslo, Norway on 9 November. The Stefanus Prize was initiated in 2005 by the Stefanus Alliance International, a religious freedom organisation formerly known as the Norwegian Mission to the East (NMTE), and is awarded to "a person who has been prominent in the public sphere - nationally or internationally - as a fearless campaigner for human rights, and particularly religious freedom." Former recipients of the prize include Bishop Thomas of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. New details reconfirm earlier reports that Christians were the focus of an Oct. 1 massacre of 29 students in Mubi, Nigeria. Jerry Dykstra, media relations director for Open Doors, said post-massacre follow-up by Open Doors workers at the site reconfirms an Oct. 3 report that Christians were the focus of the attack. According to Open Doors sources, Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group, invaded the off campus hostel of Federal Polytechnic College in northern Nigeria late Monday, allegedly separated Muslim students from Christians and massacred up to 30 Christian students. The attack took place in the city of Mubi in remote Adamawa State, located in northeastern Nigeria.
According to Voice of America (VOA), the students were systemically slaughtered after being individually questioned. One witness told VOA that the killings took place due to a recent controversy over student elections, but that couldn't be confirmed. Daniel Babayi, the executive secretary of the Northern States Christian Association of Nigeria, told VOA that he believed the killings were a reprisal attack after 156 people were arrested and accused of being members of Boko Haram in late September. Open Doors reports that the parents and families of the victims are in mourning and in "indescribable pain." "Open Doors is calling on Christians in the West to bear this horrific burden with our brothers and sisters in Mubi and Adamawa state," says Open Doors USA spokesman Jerry Dykstra. "Nigeria is becoming a killing field. According to Associated Press, Boko Haram has been responsible for almost 700 deaths this year, although it has yet to make a statement claiming responsibility for the attack on Monday night. "Many of those 700 victims are Christians. Boko Haram's stated aim is to drive all Christians out of Nigeria and set up Sharia law in all of Nigeria. "Please pray for the parents, families and friends of the innocent victims of this slaughter. Pray that they will receive the comfort only our Lord can give. Pray that justice will prevail. Pray that Christians will not retaliate." The State Department's 2011 International Religious Freedom Report released a few weeks ago stated: "In Nigeria, attacks by elements of the violent extremist sect Boko Haram claimed the lives of both Christians and Muslims. The government did not effectively quell rising hostility or investigate and prosecute those responsible for violence." Nigeria is ranked No. 13 on the 2012 Open Doors World Watch List of 50 countries which are the worst persecutors of Christians. According to the World Watch List, Nigeria had at least 300 martyrs in 2011, although the actual number could be closer to 1,000. The church is still empty. Clothes and Bibles remain scattered throughout the sanctuary. Dried blood stains the floor. One month after gunmen opened fire inside Deeper Life Bible Church in Eika-Adagu, a suburb 12 kilometers from the town of Okene in central Nigeria’s Kogi state, members of the church have yet to resume worship services and other activities. Trinity Broadcasting Network, America's favorite faith-and-family channel, is highlighting the award-winning video documentary The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story, produced and directed by TBN Vice President of Administration Matt Crouch, as this month's stewardship and love gift for TBN viewers and partners.
On Christmas Day 1969, Arthur Blessitt, a simple street evangelist sharing the gospel on tough and gritty Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California, began a 3,000-mile hike from the West Coast to Washington, D.C, carrying a 12-foot, 45-pound rugged wooden cross on his back. His only focus was to share with all he met what that cross symbolized: the forgiveness, hope, and healing all can find through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Gunmen armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles surrounded a church in central Nigeria and opened fire during a Monday night worship service. According to the Associated Press report, the attackers killed 19 of the worshipers at Deeper Life Bible Church in the town of Otite in Kogi state, located 155 miles southwest of Nigeria's capital Abuja.
Another report from Africa puts the death total at 16 and the number of seriously wounded at nine. The church's pastor was among those killed. <more...> |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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