Boko Haram Victims: ‘We are in a Catastrophe’

Leaders of Africa’s Lake Chad Basin countries affected by Boko Haram’s intensifying insurgency over the past two weeks are calling on the international community to act urgently against the region’s ongoing humanitarian "catastrophe."

Presidents Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria), Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger), Idriss Deby Itno (Chad) and Paul Biya (Cameroon) are scheduled to participate in a special Summit on the crisis chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York today (23 Sep).

The seven-year Islamist rebellion has left 20,000 people dead and about 2.6 million displaced across the four countries. Many families have been displaced several times. In Nigeria, the crisis is particularly acute in Borno State, but the neighbouring states of Adamawa and Yobe are also affected. Recent Nigerian Army military operations, which led to the recovery of territories previously under Boko Haram’s control, have revealed the scale of the humanitarian needs of civilians in the three states.

Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State and epicenter of the insurgency, has seen its population rise from 1 million inhabitants to 2.5 million because of internally displayed persons (IDPs) fleeing Boko Haram.

Nigeria’s neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger are also flooded with thousands of refugees from Nigeria. The number of displaced people in the most affected areas has tripled over the last two years.

Rev. Samuel Dali, President of the Church of Brethren in Nigeria (Ekkliziyar’ Yan Uwa a Nijeriya, or EYN), told World Watch Monitor that despite the government’s persistent victory claims, Boko Haram continues to pose security threats. In many areas militants are still active, he said, forcing people to put their lives in danger each time they go to their farms.

Last week, Boko Haram attacks near Chibok killed 12. On 18 Sep., eight Christians were killed as militants opened fire outside a church in Kwamjilari, 19km from Chibok, where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped overnight in April 2014.

The assailants also burned down the church, blocked roads and began shooting randomly, prompting a movement of people who sought refuge in the bush and the nearby town of Chibok.

In the early hours of Monday, 19 Sep., militants stormed Tari, an agrarian community in Damboa near Chibok. The assailants slit the throats of the village head and his son before setting fire to their houses. Two other villagers were shot dead as they were trying to escape.

Rev. Dali also decried the corruption and mismanagement of relief materials by officials he said are hampering the aid efforts.

"Unfortunately, the relief materials are not always reaching the right persons," said Dali. "Some officials keep them for themselves, leaving the IDPs in hunger."

Dali’s claim echoed the accusations of Father Maurice Kweirang, in charge of St. Theresa Catholic Church’s IDP camp in Yola, in Nigeria’s north-eastern Adamawa State.

''This crisis is a result of a deliberate act of mismanagement by officials," Fr. Kweirang told WWM. “Food and other non-food items destined for IDPs have been diverted. They are selling them in open market in Maiduguri [Borno’s main city] and elsewhere."

International NGOS are not doing enough either, he claimed, since they are working under the state Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), which he called “ineffective”.

‘Critical point’

On 16 Sep., two top humanitarian officials raised the alarm for the Lake Chad Basin region at a conference in London’s Chatham House.

The situation has reached a "critical point", noted Dr. Mercedes Tatay, International Medical Secretary of Médecins Sans Frontières. After visiting north-east Nigeria few weeks ago, she reported that in many areas where Boko Haram militants had been in control, MSF found people without water, food or sanitation.

"We are in a catastrophe. There are huge mortality rates. In parts of north-east Nigeria, the under-5 mortality rate is quite low.

Adeboye declares war against evil forces

Thursday night will forever be a remarkable moment for those present at the 2015 Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Convention,  as the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, whom many see as meek man, turned combative against evil forces and enemies.

“Today, we are going to fight and recover all that the enemy had taken from us. All of you who had been leaving on bondage shall be set free today!
“Every door that has been shot against your success shall be forced open tonight because our God can destroy any yoke. At His names all knees including those of all the witches and all the occultic agents who have been hibernating in our homes must bow. Don’t be afraid, we are going to pray together tonight.”

Shortly after a brief sermon, titled “Free Indeed”, the soft-spoken General Overseer explained that one cannot be free from an enemy except such enemy becomes one’s friend or died. He then initiated an extremely violent deliverance prayer session which drove the large crowd hysterical, resulting in several indescribable demonic manifestations.

Repeatedly, he warned the congregation against any form of fear, assuring them that the blood of Jesus would protect them, as they pray  against these evil forces tonight.

Adeboye had earlier instructed the ushers to be on high alert and carry all persons under the influence of unction to the front of the altar to prevent them from injuring themselves or harming other innocent worshippers. It took the ushers several moments to salvage the situation and restore order to a chaotic environment  characterized by men, women, boys and girls violently rolling and shaking.

However, Pastor Adeboye announced before the sermon that a total of 66 babies including 31 boys and 35 girls, had been delivered within a few days of the ministers’ conference.

Radical Muslims Kill 8 People in Nigeria, Vandalize Churches After Christian Student Is Accused of Insulting Islam

A mob of radical Muslims vandalized multiple churches in northern Nigeria and beat a Christian student nearly to death after he was accused of insulting the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

International Christian Concern reports that the attacks revolved around an argument at Abdu Gusau Polytechnic in Talata-Mafara, Zamfara State, between a Christian and a Muslim student on Sunday.

The Christian was accused of blasphemy by other Nigerian students and was severely beaten by the angry mob. His life was saved by a fellow Christian and a compassionate Muslim who helped carry the victim to the hospital.

Radical Muslims then attacked several Christian campus establishments on Monday, with the attack spilling into town and targeting a number of churches.

"When I heard this from my pastor and one of my members, I immediately called some security officials because the radicals went on rampage in town," said Anglican Bishop of Zamfara the Rev. John Danbinta.

"They went to ECWA Church, Living Church, and Anglican Church. They vandalized the Anglican Church pastorium, destroying electronics and other property. I heard they also burned down the home of the rescue volunteer Muslim man (who assisted the attacked Christian student to the hospital), trapping and killing eight persons inside who, sadly, happened to be Muslims also," he added.

The bishop noted that that if it wasn't for security forces, the riot would have caused even more destruction.

ICC's Regional Manager, Troy Augustine, condemned the attacks in a statement.

"If Nigeria is to be considered advancing in human rights and religious freedom, the government must take concerted steps to curb such violence and prosecute the people responsible," Augustine said.

"Furthermore, Nigeria should apply the tenets of its constitution fairly across all corners of the country, protecting and maintaining a citizen's right to worship and to disagree freely without fear of any threats to their safety, extrajudicial or otherwise."

Nigeria's population is roughly half Christian and half Muslim, though radical Islamic elements have stirred conflict and tensions between the two groups.

Back in April, four gang members were arrested for the brutal murder of a Christian pastor who had tried to preach to them about Jesus Christ.

Authorities in Rivers State explained that Pastor Chukwu Ekere was killed "for the simple reason that the man of God disturbed them with his preaching of repentance and also for urging them to shun their nefarious activities and accept God."

Radical terror groups such as Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen have also been behind the deaths of thousands of Christians in the past several years, with the violence only increasing in 2016, as reported by the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans in July.

"Whatever the federal government is doing, if anything, is either too slow or insignificant compared with the reoccurrence of the killings; the federal government needs to step up and take bold actions to give members of the Christian community in the country a sense of security and belonging," Pastor Ade Oyesile, executive director of CANAN, said.