Nigeria: Islamist terrorists attack 3 churches, killing dozens

June 19, 2012

Bomb attacks on three Christian churches, including the cathedral of the Diocese of Zaria, have left dozens of worshippers dead in Nigeria.

The Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram (“Western education is a sin”) claimed responsibility for the attacks, which took place in the north-central Nigerian state of Kaduna.

“I was preaching during the second morning Mass, when around 9:00 we heard a loud explosion,” said Bishop George Dodo of Zaria. “The car bomb created a crater two feet deep; all around there was broken glass, rubble and burning cars.”

“In Kaduna there were reprisals against citizens of Muslim religion,” he added. “Especially when the news of the attack against the Pentecostal church spread, young people responded with violence, destroying some properties.”

The nation’s bishops “are first asking that Christians continue to pray,” said Father Patrick Alumuku, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Abuja, the nation’s capital. “Christians must not seek revenge.”

 

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Further information:

• Nigeria: Boko Haram claims responsibility for weekend attacks (Vatican Radio)
• Nigerian Christians ask for urgent prayer after triple suicide bomb attacks on churches (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
• Attacks in Kaduna: the testimony of the Bishop of Zaria to Fides Agency (Fides)