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| Photo by Glenn Riegel |
| Mission and service executive Jay Wittmeyer leads prayer for peace in Nigeria during the recent Annual Conference. |
The following tally of deaths, burned churches, and loss of
property among members of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church
of the Brethren in Nigeria) provides a stark picture of the suffering of
Nigerian Brethren since the extremist Islamist sect Boko Haram began
terrorist operations in northern Nigeria around 2009. This is just one
church leader’s tally from reports extracted from the EYN media
department and the EYN president’s diary. It was provided to the Global
Mission and Service office with the caveat that “we may not have the
full statistics of the whole destruction caused by the attackers against
other denominations and Muslims, but we have tried to keep most records
of casualties within the EYN church.” The reports notes that because
EYN churches and members are scattered all over the country, the EYN
Disaster Relief Committee is working hard to identify communities,
congregations, and individuals for proper documentation and
assistance--so this listing most probably is incomplete and includes
inconsistencies. The church leader added a personal note to Brethren in
the US: “We thank you for continued prayers and support, it is keeping
us going in such a perilous time.”
About terminology: EYN refers to a local congregation as an LCC,
which stands for Local Church Council, and refers to a district as a
DCC, which stands for District Church Council. LCB refers to a preaching
point called a Local Church Branch. A “compound” is a property on which
several different buildings house people who are part of the same
family or group.
EYN churches affected by Boko Haram in Borno and Yobe States and Northern Adamawa
DCC Yobe: 10 church members have been killed, 3 LCC were burnt down including LCC Damaturu, LCC Pompomari, LCC Buni Yadi.
DCC Chibok: 10 members including a pastor have been killed, 8 Christian compounds were burnt, 1 motorcycle and a car were burnt.
LCC Kulali was burnt, all Christian compounds were burnt, 2 motorcycles burnt, the pastor’s houses and property were burnt.
DCC Maisandari: Number of people killed in each LCC
is as follows: LCC Bulumkutu 16 people, LCC Dala 17 people, LCC
Maduganari 7 people, LCC Tanki 6 people, LCC Polo 7 people, LCC Konduga 8
people. Total 61 people killed. Properties destroyed: beds and cushion
chairs, a shop, a shop looted in Tanki, household property burnt in
Polo, a church and farm produce burnt in Konduga.
DCC Biu: Number of churches burnt 4: LCC Gamadadi, LCC Tabra, LCC Biu No. 1. One member was killed, while others were hospitalized.
DCC Maiduguri: LCB Gajigana under LCC Maiduguri,
together with the pastor’s house, were burnt and all the properties. LCB
Kwana Maiwa under LCC Farm Center was burnt. Many shops, a chemist, and
houses belonging to Christians were looted, while personal cars of some
members were forcefully snatched. Total number of people killed was 32:
Ngomari Gona 6, Pompomary 1, Farm Center 8, Jajeri 11, Maiduguri 6.
DCC Kautikari: LCC Blakor was burnt, 2 members were
killed, 3 motorcycles belonging to members were burnt, a generator
belonging to a member was burnt.
DCC Attagara: LCC Attagara was burnt, 3 members were killed.
DCC Mbulamile, Jan. 10, 2013: The pastor at LCC
Sabongari in Damboa was killed. His wife and children were shot and
hospitalized. Two other members, a father and a son, were killed. The
local church was burnt down.
Total numbers of EYN members killed in Borno and Yobe States and other places 147.
Pastors killed 3.
Total churches burnt 14.
Pastor’s houses burnt 2.
Motorcycles belonging to EYN members destroyed 4.
Houses belonging to EYN members burnt down 8.
Shops and houses looted, many.
Some of the most recent attacks, by date:
On
Jan. 12, 2013, the Muslim Jihadists again
attacked Kuburvu, a Christian village in Damboa, and burnt many houses
and 2 or more people were killed. No proper report (was received) but
people were killed.
On
Jan. 20, 2013, 2 EYN members were killed in Maiduguri.
On
Jan. 31, 2013, shops belonging to Christians in Maiduguri were attacked and 3 people were killed, 1 of them was an EYN member.
On
Feb. 1, 2013, LCC Samunaka in Mubi was attacked,
the pastor’s office was burnt down. Also, 3 of our members were killed
while 1 sustained gun shot wounds.
On
Feb. 2, 2013, news was brought that LCC Huwim under DCC Mussa was burnt.
On
Feb. 3, 2013, LCC Bita in Gavva West was burnt. The church is between Damboa and Gwoza.
On
Feb. 4, 2013, EYN Samunaka in Mubi was attacked,
some houses belonging to Christians were burnt, ECWA (a church belonging
to another denomination) was burnt, and about 12 persons were killed, 5
of which were EYN members.
Summary:
Number of people killed in eight District Church Councils (DCC):
Chibok, Borno State, 10; Yobe, Yobe State, 10; Maisandari, Borno State,
61; Biu, Borno State, 1; Kautikari, Borno State, 2; Maiduguri, Borno
State, 47; Attagara, Borno State, 3; Mbulamel, Borno State, 8; Kaduna,
Kaduna State, 1; Mubi, Adamawa State, 4. Total 147
Number of Local Church Councils (LCC) burnt:
Attagara, Borno State; Damaturu, Yobe State; Pompomari, Borno State;
Boni Yadi, Borno State; Kwaple, Borno State; Konduga, Borno State;
Gamadadi, Borno State; Tabra, Borno State; Biu No. 1, Borno State;
Badarawa, Kaduna State.
Local Church Branches (LCB) burnt: Bayan Tasha, Blakar, Gajigana, Kwanan Maiwa.
Source: 2/21/2013 Newsline
Moderator-elect: Frances S. Beam of Concord, N.C.; David Steele of Martinsburg, Pa.
Church
of the Brethren-related colleges are hosting some well-known speakers
for upcoming events, including well known religion scholar Diana Butler
Bass who will speak at Bridgewater (Va.) College, and Nobel Peace
laureate Leymah Gbowee who will speak at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College.
The CT Project,
a grassroots initiative to bring Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) to
Connecticut, has succeeded in scheduling CDS training workshops in five
areas of the state. Facebook posts at www.facebook.com/TheCTProject announce the following workshops:
Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren in Glen Arm, Md., holds a Lafiya: Peacemaking seminar
on April 27 featuring speakers knowledgeable about Nigeria, Rwanda, and
the Congo. “For the past five years, Long Green Valley Church of the
Brethren has held fabulous women's retreats in the spring in our
peaceful and historic valley near Prigel's Creamery and Boordy
Vineyards. Normally 50-70 area woman attend,” reports Jean C. Sack, who
is working on publicity for the seminar. “In 2013 our focus is African
conflict. This year the Brethren, Mennonites, and Quakers in our area
are joining others for a April 27 Saturday peacemaking seminar focusing
on two very troubled regions of Africa where women and children suffer
the most from conflict. Recent news from the Congo/Rwanda about M23
takeover of Eastern towns and the flight of refugees as well as killings
of Christians and polio vaccinators (in Nigeria) concerns the world.”
The seminar is open to both women and men, and “mature young people” are
encouraged to attend. Speakers are Nathan Hosler, director of the Peace
Witness Ministry of the Church of the Brethren and a former peace
worker with Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the
Brethren in Nigeria), and David Bucura, Central Africa coordinator for
the African Great Lakes Initiative and a pastor of the Friends Church in
Rwanda. Find out more at www.madcob.com/pdf/lafiya2013.pdf or www.lgvcob.org .