Nine dead in latest attacks on Christians in Nigeria

Eye witnesses report that men dressed in military uniforms carried out targeted attacks on three homes at the Federal College of Land Resources in Kuru on February 10.

According to a report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, gunmen entered the first home and shot dead Chube Job, his wife Susan and their young daughter Emmanuella.

In the next home, a man identified only as Gideon and another man identified only as Hosea were shot dead.

Gideon’s daughter, named only as Alice, said: “At about 7pm we heard gunshots and my father came out. We told him not to go out but he went out to call my brother, who was standing outside with another man [Hosea]. The men barged in, shouting, ‘Here he is, get him!’ And they shot them.”

Alice’s brother was shot in the neck during the attack and remains in hospital.

Gunmen proceeded to enter a third house, shooting one man who survived his injuries. The attackers also fired at the couple’s car and set a bus on fire.

Eye witnesses report that the attackers set the houses on fire with a blow torch and stole 30 cows belonging to Mr Job.

A second attack was launched two days later on Shekan village in Jos South, in which an elderly woman was beheaded and two of her grandchildren murdered. A man was killed in a further attack in the village by unknown assailants.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said it was not the first time that eyewitnesses had reported seeing attackers dressed in military clothing.

He said it was “extremely worrying” that the attacks had occurred despite the deployment of fresh troops in an attempt to stabilise the region.

He said: “We offer our condolences to those who lost loved ones in both of these attacks. We call on the Nigerian authorities to take effective measures to protect educational facilities in Plateau State, and also urge them to take robust measures to weed out rogue military elements and discourage any manifestation of sectarianism on the part of the armed forces.”

Plateau State lies almost exactly in the middle of Nigeria’s largely Muslim North and Christian South. It has become a flashpoint for deadly sectarian clashes in recent years in which hundreds of Christians have been killed.

At least 80 people were killed in bomb attacks d ensuing clashes between Muslims and Christians in Jos over Christmas. Militant Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the bomb attacks.

Last March, around 500 Christians are believed to have been killed in a massacre carried out by Islamic militants.