An attack made by unidentified gunmen in a church in Nigeria has left one Christian dead and over 100 missing.
Christian Today reported that the Emmanuel Baptist Church located in Kakau Daji, Kaduna was attacked by gunmen who opened fired on the congregation during worship services on Sunday, Nov. 7.
The said attack is the latest in a series militants are raging against Christians despite repeated calls to the government on declining security yet no action still has taken place. The situation has left Christian Association of Nigeria Kaduna branch's Rev. Joseph Haya "seriously worried" for the faithful.
In an interview with Politics Nigeria, Haya disclosed that the security has worsened despite the government's claim that it is at its best.
"We are seriously worried now. Gunmen are gradually approaching the township. Emmanuel Baptist Church, which is in Kakau Daji, is just less than three kilometres to Sabon Tashan," Haya said.
"The truth about the shutdown of network of telecom services is that people who are making policies are not fair to the citizens. You will agree with me that government is doing trial and error, and this has not worked to curb insecurity in the state," he added.
Haya said the gunmen were a group of bandits who demanded a ransom from the victim's family that is higher since acquiring information is made difficult nowadays in Nigeria with the government shutting down telecommunication services. This situation would worsen, Haya pointed out, if the government does not undertake appropriate actions to address it now.
"The abducted Emmanuel Baptist Church worshippers would have cried out on Sunday to facilitate their rescue and for people to know that they were endangered, but they could not cry out. So, the shutdown of telecom network even assisted the bandits more," Haya disclosed.
In August, Christianity Daily reported that a study conducted by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law revealed that approximately 43,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in a span of 12 years. This does not include the 18,500 Christians who have disappeared and 17,500 churches that were attacked during the same period. These attacks were all made by Islamic radicals.
One of these Islamic groups is the Boko Haram who is now the most feared and most active. The group in June released a Church of Christ In Nations pastor, Rev. Polycarp Zango, who they held captive for eight months. Zango was released only because Kalthum Foundation for Peace Chairman Ambassador Ummu Kalthum Muhammad negotiated with the militants for it.
Reacting to the recent attack on Nigerian Christians, Evangelist Franklin Graham called on the faithful to pray for them and for others suffering the same in other places in the world. Graham is the President of Samaritan's Purse, which is a Christian organization based in North Carolina that helps people who are in crisis wherever in the world, such as in Nigeria.
"Today is the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians. Let's pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ living in countries where they face persecution, threats, and even death for living out their Christian faith. May God protect and help them," Graham said in Facebook on Monday.
