BOKO HARAM BURNS CATHOLIC BUILDING IN ADAMAWA

MADAGALI, Adamawa, Nigeria – The radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram on Tuesday, set alight a Catholic catechetical building in Madagali. The building, according to the Diocese of Maiduguri was previously damaged by Boko Haram during an attack on a village in northwestern Nigeria few years back and was rebuilt before the current attack.

According to the Diocese, the catechetical centre was previously destroyed during a violent Boko Haram takeover of the region in 2014, and had only recently been rebuilt. The attack on Monday was stopped by Nigerian security forces and a group of local vigilante from the Adamawa State. One member of Boko Haram was reportedly killed during the raid.

Ahmad Sajoh, the Adamawa Commissioner of Information and Strategy, applauded the people’s resilience and asked the public to remain calm, according to Punch News.

“The current operations by the security agencies are intended to ensure enhanced security situation all over the state ahead of the end of Ramadan Sallah celebrations,” he said. “The general public is therefore requested to remain calm and be law-abiding.”

Archbishop Valerian Okeke of Onitsha, along with a committee of the Nigerian bishops’ conference,  issued a statement in May condemning Islamic violence in the country, following a conference for seminary rectors addressing “Christian Witness in the Face of Islamic Militancy.”

“The Church in Nigeria is passing through a very trying time more than ever before. The recent massacre of two Catholic priests and some parishioners during Holy Mass in Benue State and similar killings in other parts of the country strike deep note on the ears of the populace,” the statement said.