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Christians Face Harsh Realities of Nigerian Church Bombing

Compass Direct News (CDN) is reporting that a suicide bomb attack on Christmas Day by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram that left at least 45 people dead and 73 others injured has turned the ruins of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, outside the Nigerian capital of Abuja in Madalla, into a national mourning site, reports Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries.

CDN says that three of the 45 confirmed dead were policemen on guard duty at the time of the attack, and most of the rest were parishioners. While some church members have stayed away from mass at the remnant building, and other area worship centers are empty, others continue to attend St. Theresa’s.

“The shock of the incident has been very traumatic for the people who were at the scene, and it is going to be difficult for them to recover from it – we are all still mourning,” the Rev. Joseph Akor, director of communication of the Minna Diocese, told Compass.

“The worshipers have cause to be afraid after an incident like this, but they are strengthened by the blood of the martyrs and have not relented in attending daily Mass.”

Of the 73 people receiving hospital treatment, 50 were seriously injured, according to the Rev. Musa Dada of the Niger state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). A widow who is a member of the church came into the damaged church building this morning wailing over the death of her only son. Another woman lost her husband and all their children in the attack. A small girl lost her parents. CAN President Ayo Oritsejafor called for Christians to defend themselves.

“As CAN president I will not encourage revenge, but I will ask all Christians to protect themselves anyway they can,” he said. President Goodluck Jonathan has reportedly tried to forestall sectarian violence by holding urgent meetings with Muslim and Christian leaders. On Tuesday (Dec. 27), Nigeria’s primary Muslim cleric, the Sultan of Sokoto, denounced the Christmas Day attacks and called for calm.

Note from Dan Wooding: This shocking situation is close to my heart as it was in Minna that my parents, Alf and Anne Wooding, first met and fell in love at the language school there. They were later married in Kano, and I came along a year later, born at the Vom Christian Hospital. To see a video of the hospital, please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhYxyJ53uUo

For more information, please go to: www.compassdirect.org

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TAGS: Compass Direct News suicide bomb attack Christmas Day Boko Haram St. Theresa’s Catholic Church Nigeria

[01/01/2012]

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