Nigeria: Muslims murder 20 Christians, burn down 10 churches

The Rt. Rev. Stephen Dami Mamza, the Catholic bishop of the Yola Diocese, stated: “It is on record that less than one week ago, no fewer than 20 innocent Christian farmers were killed in separate attacks in and around Tambo. Luru village in particular saw its worst days when herdsmen wielding sophisticated firearms stormed the area, killing 15 people. Within the period under review, not less than 10 churches were burnt down, and in some instances, worshippers were killed.”

Mamza was apparently careful not to name the persecutors. After all, he doesn’t want to get called on the carpet by Pope Francis, who insists that “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.” In line with this preposterous and insulting nonsense, descriptions of the Muslim persecution of Christians by Catholics generally omit any characterization of the persecutors. They, above all, must not be offended.

“Pastor, Other Christians Slain in Herdsmen Revenge Attacks in Northeast Nigeria,” Morning Star News, March 2, 2018:

Nigeria (Morning Star News) – Armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday (Feb. 27) killed a pastor and 19 other Christians in apparent retaliation for attacks by ethnic Bachama militia on Fulani families, sources said.

The Rev. Haruna Enoch was killed along with the others in herdsmen attacks on four predominantly Christian areas in the Numan and Demsa areas of Adamawa state, area residents said.

The killings reportedly came in retaliation for an unspecified attack on Fulani families by young men from the predominantly Christian Bachama tribe who have formed militias in response to violence by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram and heavily-armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen. Tit-for-tat violence between Fulani herdsmen and Bachama militia in recent months has resulted in scores of killings, including women and children.

The anti-Christian dimension of the tribal conflict is prominent in Adamawa state as it is in tribal conflicts in other parts of Nigeria, according to rights groups and Christian leaders.

Sam Zadock, spokesperson for the People’s Democratic Party and a member of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN), was among those slain in an ambush by the herdsmen this week, area residents told Morning Star News. Area resident Margaret Inusa Habu said in a text message that Zadock was stricken with machete blows.

The names of the remaining Christians were not readily available, but local Christians told Morning Star News that they were members of either the LCCN or the Roman Catholic Church. They said an attack on Gwamba village began at about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 27)….

After troops deployed in the Numan area later captured six of the assailants and killed 10 other herdsmen in a firefight at Gwamba village, the army reportedly recovered from the herdsmen an AK-47 rifle, ammunition, a locally made rifle with 25 cartridges, a cutlass, looted clothes and a motorcycle.

In January the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Adamawa State Chapter, spoke out against attacks by the herdsmen. The Rt. Rev. Stephen Dami Mamza, 49-year-old Catholic bishop of the Yola Diocese, accused the Muslim-controlled state government of supporting armed Fulani herdsmen.

“It is on record that less than one week ago, no fewer than 20 innocent Christian farmers were killed in separate attacks in and around Tambo,” Mamza said at a Jan. 10 press conference in Yola, the state capital. “Luru village in particular saw its worst days when herdsmen wielding sophisticated firearms stormed the area, killing 15 people. Within the period under review, not less than 10 churches were burnt down, and in some instances, worshippers were killed.”

He cautioned the Adamawa government to warn its officials to avoid unwise statements during and after attacks, as “the secretary to the Adamawa state government has propounded a new firearms narrative which seeks to justify the use of firearms by Fulani in the country.”

“This is dangerous and reprehensible, as the law of the country does not allow any civilian the possession of illegal firearms, whether herdsmen or farmers,” Mamza said. “CAN wishes to state in unequivocal terms that violent elements are easily emboldened and fueled to terror killings by such reckless and unguarded utterances.”…

https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/03/nigeria-muslims-murder-20-christians-burn-down-10-churches