Local bishops told ACN, that even though two years ago the Nigerian military declared the extermination of the Boko Haram terrorist group, sometime later, the organisation rebounded, and is more dangerous than ever.

“Nowadays, nearly all of the Northern regions are in the hands of these violent and murderous criminals. In the last three years, Christian communities have constantly been attacked in states like Benue, Kebbi, Plateau, Kaduna, Katsina, Nasarawa, Níger, Sokoto, and Zamfara. Thousands of people have lost their lives in these attacks”, declared the bishops. 

ACN also shared the testimony of Fr. Sam Ebute, who is working as a missionary in the Society of African Missions. Ha has recently laid twenty-one of his faithful in the grave, after a Boko Haram attack.

But it was not a singular occurrence.

“In 2017, I celebrated the funeral of a mother, who was assassinated together with her four children, in the middle of the night. In 2018, at the parish of Tsonje, I laid another four people in the grave, who were assassinated by extremists. And still in 2018, in Zunruk, seven young adults were killed in broad daylight”, he said.

“In the last seven weeks, we kept burying the faithful of the parish. Since the latest attacks, we are living in constant fear, because we do not know the time of Boko Haram’s next raid. We cannot practice our faith in peace. We don’t feel safe in our own houses,” added the missionary.

The Nigerian bishops expressed their concern that the Nigerian government does not fulfil its obligations towards the citizens, and does not protect them in these extremely difficult times.

Source: Acidigital