The Governor of Nigeria’s Borno state has blamed the Islamic terror group Boko Haram for leaving almost 60,000 children without parents and an equal number of adults widowed.
In comments made during a guest lecture at the National Defence College in Abuja, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum hit out at the Nigerian federal government for failing to adequately tackle the brutal group, who have been running riot across the country for the best part of a decade.
“Some people will never tell you the truth when you are in power and honestly, many of us in power also do not want to hear the truth, we prefer to be told what we like to hear and that is a serious deficit in leadership in the country,” he lamented, according to the Christian Post.
Thought years of sustained attacks, Zulum lamented that Boko Haram had been responsible for the orphaning of 59,311 children and the widowing of some 59,123.
On Sunday, millions of Nigerians turned to the streets in protest against the government inaction and in a bid to raise awareness of the increased persecution.
The main march, held in Lagos and led by Enoch Adeboye — The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) — followed a three-day fast organized by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
“With one voice, we said ‘no’ to killings, ‘no’ to security negligence, and ‘no’ to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria,” CAN president Samson Ayokunle told Christianity Today. “It is a wake-up call to the government.”
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has continued to insist that the security forces are being successful in combating the group.
“We owe thanks to the Nigerian defense forces—bolstered by our partnership with the British and American militaries—that we are winning this struggle in the field,” he wrote in an op-ed submitted to CT.
“But we may not, yet, be completely winning the battle for the truth.”
The Britain-based non-profit “Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)”, led by a member of the British House of Lords, Baroness Cox, found that around 1000 Christians were killed in Nigeria last year.
Faithwire has reported extensively on the persecution of Nigerian Christians. Below is a selection of our stories from over the past year:
- PRAY: 87-Year-Old Nigerian Christian Hacked to Death By Islamist Militants
- Christian Woman Killed, 4 Others Abducted From Church in Nigeria
- Nigerian Priest ‘Miraculously’ Escapes Violent Murder Attempt
- Christian Genocide in Nigeria: Where Is the Coverage?
- Pregnant Mom Among Five Christians Murdered by Islamic Militants in Nigeria
- Media Turn Blind Eye as Islamic Militants Ramp Up Genocide Against Christians in Latest Nigerian Attack
- Sixteen Nigerian Christians Shot Dead by Militants After Baby Dedication
- Despite Relentless Persecution, Nigeria Set to Translate Bible Into 250 Different Languages
- ‘Pray That These Christians Would Not Be Discouraged’: 20 Nigerian Christians Slaughtered Over Grazing Law
- Abducted Nigerian Schoolgirl Held Captive by Boko Haram for Over a Year Refuses to Renounce Her Christian Faith
- Anglican Archbishop Urges Prayer After Nigerian Priest Murdered, Family Still Held Captive
Do join us in keeping all those affected by persecution in your prayers.