Nigeria: Police armoured tanks are again patrolling the streets of Maiduguri
Oct 30 2007
Postings >> Nigeria

Police armoured tanks are again patrolling the streets of Maiduguri after Islamist militants sent letters warning of a fresh wave of attacks against Christians.

The warnings were made to the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN) in the Polo area of the city, scene of violent outbursts last year in which at least 65 Christians were killed and 57 churches destroyed.

The letters, delivered earlier this month, warned that EYN members would be attacked 'in the next few days'. Mosque calls to prayer late at night put the police and security agencies on alert.

This latest threat is nothing new to the EYN church. Their building had only recently been completed before it was burned in the riots of February 2006. In fact the congregation, now 3,000-strong, has been harassed ever since it first met in a member's home.

Compass Direct reports that life in Borno state under Sharia law remains tough for Christians. 'Government resources are being used to propagate and promote Islam to the detriment of Christianity,' says Rev Daniel Mbaya who leads the threatened EYN church.

Meanwhile, in Kaduna state, two young Christians have been brutally killed in the Gamji Gate area of Kaduna city -- after Muslim leaders called for jihad against Christian youths.

Henry Ogbaje, 24, a Sunday School teacher at the Kotoko military barracks, was killed with a sword. A young man identified only as 'Basil' was clubbed to death in the same area the following day. Christians said the murders were incited by televised broadcasts of a fiery sermon by Islamic leader Sheik Gumi during Ramadan.

• Ask God to protect Rev Daniel Mbaya and his congregation in Maiduguri, Borno.
• Pray for God's peace to reign in the churches of Borno and Kaduna state, amid threats of violence.