Gunmen Attack Nigerian Church Services

     Gunmen attacked two church services on the campus of Bayero University in the city of Kano, Nigeria, on Sunday; killing around 20 people and wounding several others. The attackers used homemade bombs in aluminum soda cans, a method identified with the Boko Haram, to drive Christian worshipers from a hall in the university where they were gathered. They preceded this attack by shooting into a second group of Christians who were worshiping outdoors on the campus. The gunmen proceeded to shoot the panicking Christians down as they attempted to escape. A breaking news story written by the Associated Press reported that the terrorists were already disappearing into the neighbourhood by the time the police responded. Full details of that story can be found here.

     While no terrorist group has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the attack, there are a number of indicators that identify the Boko Haram as the likely group behind the latest attack on Christians in Nigeria, the most important being the religious identity of those attacked and murdered. The group has been linked to a number of terrorist attacks in Nigeria and is responsible for over 450 reported deaths this year alone. Their mission is to abolish the secular system of government and establish sharia law in northern Nigeria. To learn more about the Boko Haram follow this link to a previous post talking about an Easter Sunday bombing that killed 25 people in Nigeria.

Nigerian officials transport the body of a victim after gunmen attacked churchgoers in Kano. (Photograph Reuters)

     The terrorist group has also been responsible for attacks against the Muslim community and law enforcement agencies, as well as a bombing at the Nigerian newspaper Thisday which occurred Thursday and claimed the lives of five people. Vanguard News reported that the reason behind the attack was to send a message to the media that the Boko Haram would no longer condone misrepresentation in the press; such as being blamed for attacks the group was not behind. Abul Qaqa, spokesperson for the sect, said that they cautioned reporters and the media to be "professional" and "objective" in their reports and claimed that the journalists have chosen to align with the government and forfeit neutrality. For the full story visit Vanguard News here.

     The threat of Boko Haram is going nowhere because the government is both corrupt and slow to act and the police force uses brutality to enforce justice. They are not slowing down their attacks against the Nigerian community and have stated that they plan to continue until their mission is completed. Mr. Qaqa has confirmed that they have just begun a campaign against the media and have no plans to stop. They claim that the reason behind the attacks is because of the injustice that they experience, a claim that holds little merit when presented with terror and death.