Category Archives: Boko Haram

Nigeria officials: 3 church blasts hit northern state strained by religious tension

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680 News:

LAGOS, Nigeria – Three church blasts rocked a northern Nigerian state Sunday, officials said, prompting protests in a state that has previously been strained by religious tensions.

The first two blasts hit churches in the city of Zaria, said Kaduna State police spokesman Aminu Lawan. National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Yushau Shuaib said the third explosion rocked the city of Kaduna.

Neither spokesman could say how many people may have been killed or hurt.

A Nigerian Red Cross report said rescuers are still trying to get victims of the Zaria attacks to nearby hospitals. The report said young people have started protesting in Zaria, raising fears that Sunday’s church attacks could further inflame a state strained by religious tensions.

Churches have been increasingly targeted by violence in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people. An Easter Day blast in Kaduna left at least 38 people dead. A Christmas Day suicide bombing of a Catholic church in Madalla near Nigeria’s capital killed at least 44 people.

Authorities said they had no immediate suspects for Sunday’s attacks, though a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has claimed similar attacks in the past.

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is sacrilege” in the Hausa language of Nigeria’s north, is waging an increasingly bloody fight with security agencies and the public. More than 560 people have been killed in violence blamed on the sect this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

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Mob kills 6 Muslims in Nigeria

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When the government cannot or will not protect you, then vigilantism is the logical result. “Justice,” one famous  judge once wrote, “must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done”.

from Dw.De

An angry mob killed at least six Muslim youths in Nigeria on Monday. The killings follow attacks on two churches last weekend. DW talked to the Catholic Archbishop of Jos about the violence and possible solutions.

In the international media, the violence in Nigeria’s North is often described as a conflict between Muslim and the Christian communities. In recent months, a number of religious leaders have spoken out and denied that the religion is triggering the clashes. Instead, they blame economic and political factors for the increasing levels of violence.

Ignatius Kaigama is the Catholic Archbishop of Jos. The city has made headlines as one of the hotspots of the violence in recent years. Kaigama has played an active role in mediation efforts between warring parties.

Last Monday local media reported that a Christian mob killed six Muslim youth in a revenge attack. On the weekend, a suicide bomber had hit a church in Jos while gunmen opened fire at churchgoers in Borno State.

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More murdering of Christians in Africa by Muslims acting for Islam

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Bellanaja:

Another Dark Sunday: Sucide Bomber & Gunmen Attack Churches in Jos & Borno

Posted on Sunday, June 10th, 2012 at 2:01 PM

By Adeola Adeyemo

It’s another bloody Sunday in Nigeria as reports of a bomb blast rocking the city of Jos has again taken the lives of innocent individuals. Although the number of casualties is yet unknown and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, media reports say a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Lord’s Chosen Church, Rukuba Road, Jos while gunmen sprayed a congregation with bullets in Biu, Borno state.

The Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Ayeni, has confirmed the explosion but says the casualty figure is yet to be ascertained.

Also, a group of angry youths have mobilised themselves at the scene of this morning’s suicide bomb attack in Jos, Plateau state.

Meanwhile in Biu in Borno state, gunmen opened fire on a church, spraying the congregation with bullets and killing and wounding many of them, witnesses said.

“Three gunmen came to the premises of the church and started firing at people outside the church before going into the main building to carry on their killings … Many people have been killed and wounded,” said a witness, Hamidu Wakawa, who was at the church.

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Red Cross: 7 Killed In North Nigeria Blast

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NPR

by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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MAIDUGURI, Nigeria June 8, 2012, 12:17 pm ET

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — A suicide bomber blew up his car outside police headquarters Friday in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing himself and six other people and wounding 20, the Nigerian Red Cross said amid warnings that the situation in the city is worsening.

The blast occurred Friday around noon in front of the headquarters’ gate after officers prevented the bomber from entering the compound, said Borno State police chief Bala Hassan. Hassan said that only one policeman and two civilians were killed and six civilians were injured. However, officials have downplayed casualty figures in the past.

Hours earlier, a suspected bomber died when an explosive went off prematurely in another part of the city, said military spokesman Col. Victor Ebhaleme.

A radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has carried out similar attacks in Maiduguri where residents live in constant fear of the next blast or drive-by shooting.

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5 killed in Nigeria church attack

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Denver Post:

April 29 2012

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria—Witnesses say gunmen shot dead at least five people attending a church worship service in northeast Nigeria, including the pastor. That comes as gunmen killed at least 16 in a separate attack.

Witnesses say the gunmen attacked a Church of Christ in Nigeria church Sunday in Maiduguri, the spiritual home of the radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram. The witnesses declined to be named for fear of reprisals.

Police spokesman Samuel Tizhe confirmed the attack took place.

Meanwhile Sunday, the Nigerian Red Cross said at least 16 people were killed in an attack on church services at the campus of Bayero University in the northern city of Kano.

No group has claimed the attacks, though they mirror others carried out by Boko Haram.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

KANO, Nigeria (AP)—Gunmen attacked church services on a university campus Sunday in northern Nigeria, using small explosives to draw out and gun down panicking worshippers in an assault that killed at least 16 people, officials said.

The attackers targeted an old section of Bayero University’s campus where religious groups use a theater and other areas to hold worship services, Kano state police spokesman Ibrahim Idris said. The assault left many others seriously wounded, Idris said.

“By the time we responded, they entered (their) motorcycles and disappeared into the neighborhood,” the commissioner said.

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Read more:5 killed in Nigeria church attack – The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_20508286/nigeria-university-struck-by-gunfire-explosions#ixzz1tT6vG5Zk
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Muslims attack Christians for Easter in Nigeria

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From the BBC:

Nigerian car bombs kill many in Kaduna

Security personnel inspect the mangled remains of a bomb-laden car that exploded in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna on 18 April 2012 Attacks in the area over Easter had been threatened by the Islamist group Boko Haram

Two car bombs have exploded in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, killing at least 16 people, officials say.

Several others were seriously injured in the attack and have been taken to hospital.

The death toll could be higher, with one official, Abubakar Zakari Adamu, telling the AP news agency 38 had died.

The blasts, which caused extensive damage, happened near restaurants, a hotel and two churches.

The area has been the scene of a religious conflict in recent years that has claimed hundreds of lives.

There had been warnings of attacks in the region over Easter.

Many of the dead are thought to be motorcycle taxi drivers and beggars.

Witnesses say debris was thrown dozens of metres from the centre of the blast.

Kaduna can be found on the dividing line between Nigeria’s largely Christian south and Muslim north.

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Nigeria unrest: Suicide bomb targets church in Jos

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Seems the Christians in Nigeria have nearly had enough of attempted genocide by the Muslim group, ‘Boko Haram’.

From BBC:

Nigeria unrest: Suicide bomb targets church in Jos

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Continue reading the main story

Nigeria under attack

A suicide car bomber has killed at least three people at a church in the troubled central Nigerian city of Jos, sparking reprisals by Christian youths.

Witnesses said the suicide bomber drove his car into the prominent Church of Christ during morning prayers.

No group has claimed responsibility, but suspicion will fall on the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram.

The attack sparked a riot by Christian youths, with reports that at least two Muslims were killed in the violence.

The two men were dragged off their bikes after being stopped at a roadblock set up by the rioters, police said.

A row of Muslim-owned shops was also burned, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

‘Very angry’

Earlier, the suicide bomber smashed his car through unmanned gates towards the packed church, killing a woman in the process, witnesses said.

The explosives detonated close to where members of the congregation were attending a Sunday service, killing a father and his child. Continue Reading →

TERRORIST MUSLIM SUICIDE BOMBER TARGETS CHURCH IN NIGERIA, 2 CHRISTIANS DEAD, BOMBER IN PIECES

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JUST HAPPENED LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR AGO (10:00 am Finnish time)

Official: Suicide car bomber targets major church during service in restive central Nigeria.

Suicide car bomb detonates outside Nigeria church

By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press – 10 minutes ago

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A suicide car bomber detonated his explosives Sunday morning outside of the major church in the heart of a restive central Nigerian city that has seen hundreds die in religious and ethnic violence, an official said, killing three people and injuring others.

The explosion struck the main headquarters of the Church of Christ in Nigeria during its early morning service, Plateau state spokesman Pam Ayuba said. The blast killed the bomber and a father and child near the explosion, while wounding others, Ayuba said.

Police officials in the city could not be immediately reached for comment. A military spokesman for the area also did not answer calls for comment.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has launched increasingly bloody attacks across Nigeria, including attacks on churches. A Christmas Day bombing of a Catholic church claimed by the sect in Madalla, a town just outside the country’s capital Abuja, killed at least 44 people.

The group also claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on Christmas Eve that struck Jos, killing as many as 80 people.

MORE HERE.

Deadly gun and bomb attack in Nigerian city of Gombe

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BBC:

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At least four people have been killed in the northern Nigerian city of Gombe in a gun and bomb attack on a prison and police station, officials say.

Police say they repulsed the attack which they blamed on the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram.

The groups has carried out deadly attacks and assassinations across northern Nigeria in recent months.

Earlier on Friday, gunmen killed five people at a mosque in Kano, the main city in northern Nigeria, police said.

A police spokesman said the attackers arrived on motorcycles and opened fire at worshippers.

Nigeria is experiencing a surge in ethnic and sectarian violence.

Gombe has previously been targeted by Boko Haram. In January, an attack on a church in the city left six worshippers dead.

In the latest attack, police said they successfully defended a federal prison and police station following multiple explosions and a two-hour gun battle.

Officials said four civilians were killed and police and army officers were injured.

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