Islamist militants have executed five Christians in Nigeria over Christmas. In a video of the killing, they declare: ‘This is a warning to Christians in all parts of the world and those in Nigeria.’
The terrorist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) says it carried out the killings. ISWAP is a splinter group of Boko Haram, which has pledged to turn Nigeria into an Islamist state.
The five executed are believed to have been among 11 kidnapped on Christmas Day in northeast Nigeria. Their executioners filmed them kneeling with their hands tied behind them.
Before they shot them dead from behind they asked them to state their names. The men gave their names as Uka Joseph, Sunday, Wilson, Joshua Maidugu and Garba Yusuf.
Their last words were: ‘I am a Christian.’
ISWAP began their attack on Garkida town, Adamawa State, on Christmas Eve and continued into the early hours of Christmas Day. According to reports, the militants set fire to churches, homes and a hospital and looted shops and houses.
These onslaughts have been described as a series of ‘well-planned, well-orchestrated, systematic attacks on Christian communities’ driven by an Islamist ideology, aimed at destroying ‘the infidels.’ And they warn the Nigerian government is allowing the militants to continue their attacks ‘with impunity’.
Source: Release International
Pray for the families of these men as they struggle with losing loved ones.
Pray that the Nigerian government will step in and stop Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Pray for Christians all over the country being continually persecuted.
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