The Christian Association in Nigeria (CAN) met with police authorities in Kaduna state last week to discuss the increase in insecurity in the region, at which time they presented data on the growth of violence against Christians.
Joseph Hayab, president of the organization, stated that, in the last four years, more than 200 churches have been closed by criminal groups that control communities in the state and more than 20 pastors have been murdered.
According to the portal Christian PostKaduna is one of six states in northwestern Nigeria severely affected by factional activities, responsible for hundreds of deaths and kidnappings in the region.
During the meeting, Hayab stated that 115 Baptist churches were forced to close their doors in Birni Gwari, Chukun and Kajuru areas.
“When you go to many churches now, you will find pastors who come from these communities that have been closed because they cannot continue. We are forced to shut down due to insecurity in Kaduna,” she said.
Last month, two Christians were kidnapped in the state, two days after armed men described as terrorists killed a pastor in another location.
“Terrorists invaded the predominantly Christian community of Wusasa, Zaria, and kidnapped brothers Yusha’u Peter and Joshua Peter, staff at St. Luke’s Anglican Hospital in Wusasa,” a community leader said.
The allegations come after a wave of violence last week, in which members of a gang set fire to a church in the city of Fadam Kamantan, southern Kaduna state, and murdered seminarian Na’Aman Stephen Danlami, aged 25, who burned to death on site.
Another case happened in Jos East County, where a pastor and two members of his church were kidnapped by a group of armed men.
Religious leader Usman Umaru, from the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), was kidnapped by criminals inside his own home after a raid.
The US State Department’s latest international report on Religious Freedom noted that violence in the country affects both Christians and Muslims.
“Frequent violent incidents continued to occur, particularly in the northern part of the country, affecting both Muslims and Christians, resulting in numerous deaths,” the report states.
The NGO Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, which specializes in collecting conflict data and mapping crises around the world, reported that there were 3,953 civilian deaths due to violence across the country in 2022.
In contrast, the Nigerian government says claims that the violence is influenced by religious conflicts are false, insisting that the cases are linked to decades-old civil clashes.
In recent years, the African country has increased records of religious persecution against evangelical communities.
A survey carried out by the NGO Portas Abertas, which investigates cases of violence against Christians around the world, places Nigeria among the first placed in the chase ranking because of faith.
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