Northern Colorado Gazette

by Peter Grady –

A Muslim terrorist group in Nigeria responsible for multiple church bombings has launched another attack on a church following threats to kill all Christians in the area.

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is a sin,” is an Islamist group that has targeted Christians and public institutions in Nigeria. The group has conducted a series of attacks including the Christmas Day bombings that included the bombing of  a Catholic Church. At least 37 peoplewere killed  and 57 were wounded. During the summer, the group bombed six churches and a police station killing at least 150 people.

On Thursday, members of the group opened fire on the Deeper Life church in Nasarawa, Gombe state in Northern Nigeria. The attack was made following a warning published in local newspapers by Boko Haram telling Christians they had three days to leave northern Nigeria which is mostly Muslim, or  they would be killed.

True to their word, the Muslim group launched a gun attack on the church that killed six people and wounded 10.

Johnson Jauro, pastor of the church, told Reuters the horrific details of the attack. “The attackers started shooting sporadically. They shot through the window of the church, and many people were killed including my wife. Many of my members who attended the church service were also injured.”

Nigeria is home to 160 million people and the country is roughly split evenly between Muslims and Christians. The majority of the Christian population lives in the south, while the Muslims live in the north, however, many communities are mixed.

Following the Christmas bombings, Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the northeast part of the country. Boko Haram has said its goal is to apply Sharia law across the entire country.

A congressional report has warned that the group may be forging ties with Al-Qaeda-linked groups in Africa.

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