Nigeria: ACN urges leaders to stop violence

Neville Kyrke-Smith

The UK director of Aid to the Church in Need has said the authorities in Nigeria should step up action to stop the violence in the north, warning of yet more deaths. Neville Kyrke-Smith urged religious leaders - both Muslim and Christian - to dialogue and work for peace.

He made his statement after a 24-hour wave of violence in which 30 people died in anti-Christian attacks in Adamawa State, in the north-east.

The attacks, last weekend (6-8 January), followed five separate bomb attacks across Nigeria on Christmas Day, killing at least 40 people.

With the alleged attackers Islamist group Boko Haram warning of further violence if Christians and Animists do not leave the north, Mr Kyrke-Smith said: "The government, police and security must act now before there is a descent into further chaos with yet more deaths."

His comments come after warnings of a civil war, reports of thousands of Christians and Animists leaving the north, and President Goodluck Jonathan's announcement of a curfew in some northern states. At the weekend, Mr Jonathan said he suspected that there were Boko Haram sympathisers in his government, the police and other state security agencies.

Mr Kyrke-Smith also stressed the importance of swift action by Muslim and Christian religious leaders to condemn violence and improve inter-faith relations.

He said: "All religious leaders must do everything in their power to engage in dialogue, call for calm among their followers and seek the prayerful commitment of the wider communities for peace."

Mr Kyrke-Smith went on to appeal for prayer to end the violence and for improved inter-faith relations.

The charity head's comments follow an interview last week by Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja who told Aid to the Church in Need that Christians and Muslims in Nigeria come from the same families and have a long history of living and working together.

Archbishop Onaiyekan stressed that after the attacks over Christmas many Muslims wrote to him expressing their sympathy and that eight imams visited him to express condolences. Meantime, fears of a deepening cycle of violence have been stoked by widespread strike action in response to a fuel subsidy being scrapped.

Reports indicated that parts of the country had been brought to a standstill with shops, offices, schools and petrol stations closed.

Mr Kyrke-Smith said that northern Nigeria was a priority for project support from Aid to the Church in Need, especially given the record of poor inter-faith relations and attacks on Christians dating back decades.

Nigeria has 63 million Christians and each year Aid to the Church in Need provides at least £415,000 in aid. Last year the charity supported 51 projects including aid for training seminarians and Sisters, Mass stipends, construction of churches, pastoral centres, convents and presbyteries, and sponsorship of Christian education programmes.

Mr Kyrke-Smith said: "Aid to the Church in Need is committed to helping the Catholic Church in Nigeria, particularly where the faithful are facing a threat from political, radical Islamists."

The following video contains images which viewers may find distressing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3rjFyg3km8&feature

Source: ACN