The lives of Christians in
northern Nigeria are in
grave danger - they are being targeted, attacked
and killed for their faith. The violence is
expected to get worse because of the upcoming
Feb. 14 presidential election.
"The upcoming election will likely be a
Valentine's Day massacre for poor Christians of
Northern Nigeria," Human rights lawyer
Emmanuel Ogebe warned during a Jan. 27
congressional hearing.
Anne Buwalda, executive director of The Jubilee
Campaign , believes there are three major
components contributing to the attacks.
"One [component] is the fact that the northern
states of Nigeria, there are 13 specifically that
have Sharia law, and a minority Christian
community," she explained. "Second, you have a
Muslim opposition candidate who is contesting
the election against the existing Christian
candidate Goodluck Jonathan."
The third component Buwalda gives for the
fierce attacks on Christians in Northern Nigeria -
Boko Haram.
"(Boko Haram) wants to destabilize the country
and which has come out time and time declaring
it's efforts to remove democracy from Nigeria. It
wants to turn all of Nigeria into a Sharia Islamic
state," Buwalda told CBN News.
***Anne Buwalda, executive director of The Jubilee
Campaign, spoke more with CBN News about why
she believed Christians in northern Nigeria being
targeted. Click the player for her comments.
Many parallels are being drawn between the
Feb. 14 election and Nigeria's last election from
April 2011. During that time Buwalda says 528
churches were burned, at least 200 Christians
were killed, and thousands of Christian homes
were burned to the ground.
"That was an outbreak of violence that was
general communal violence. This time we have
the lethal component of the Boko Haram
terrorism," Buwalda said
J. Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council's
Africa Center, addressed the matter in a
prepared statement for the House Subcommittee
on Foreign Affairs.
"Between victims of raids by the militants and
those killed by its campaign of terrorist
bombings, more than 10,000 people lost their
lives in 2014 to violence connected to Boko
Haram," he wrote.
Escaping the violence doesn't appear to be an
option.
"It's very challenging to escape. First of all you
already have at least 1.5 million IDPs (Internally
Displaced People) from the north of Nigeria that
have fled across the border to Cameroon and
Niger, " Buwalda explained. "There is simply no
place to go."
"It's very grim; the fear of what could happen in
less than two weeks is disconcerting," Buwlada
said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Nigeria
earlier this week. He urged presidential
candidates to refrain from stirring up violence
after next month's vote. Kerry also promised
that America will continue to support Nigeria's
military in the fight against Boko Haram.
On Wednesday, Nigerian and Chadian jets
bombed northeast Nigerian towns and villages
dominated by Boko Haram. The strike marks the
first major offensive action against the terror
organization.
"There's a hope that perhaps this international
contingency of forces could have some advance
against the Boko Haram terrorists," Buwalda
said.
CBN International plans to provide assistance to
those who may be impacted by the election day
violence. If you'd like to donate, click here.
Please also join in our interactive prayer
campaign leading up to the Feb.14 election. If
you would like to raise awareness and share your
prayers - you can do that on social media using
the hashtag #PrayersForNigeria.
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