Christian groups in Nigeria are urging other religious sects in the country to join their campaign against the radical Islamic group Boko Haram. The call to unite comes almost a month after the group attacked a village in northern Nigeria and killed at least 65 people.
In response to the growing violence in the country, various Christian churches, including Catholics, Pentecostals and Anglicans are launching a campaign against the extremist group. As noted by Breitbart, in 2015 alone, Boko Haram has murdered over 4,000 Christians in the West African country.
Currently, most of the attacks are concentrated in the northern part of Nigeria. However, Samuel Dali, the president of the Church of the Brethren, believes that if the Christian groups do not maintain a united front, the violence caused by Boko Haram will eventually spread to other parts of the country.
"Most of the time, our brethren from southern Nigeria are ignorant of what is happening in northern Nigeria," he said in a statement. "We want the churches in the south and other parts of Nigeria to see this terrorism as not only for the churches in the north but for the whole country, because whatever affects Christians in northern Nigeria, eventually it will affect the rest of the world."
As part of the campaign, the groups signed an agreement detailing the actions taken by Boko Haram against Christians in the country. Through this document, the religious groups, including Christian Association of Nigeria, are hoping that the rest of the country and the world will see and learn about the ongoing Christian persecution in the country.
The latest attack to happen in Nigeria occurred in late January of this year after gunmen riding motorcycles entered the Dalori village in Maidugri, CNN reported. Aside from shooting at the residents, members of the Boko Haram also burned their houses. Many of the victims, including children, were reportedly burned alive by the group.
According to the news agency, the attack happened right after most of the families have finished their evening prayers. During the mass shooting, the Boko Haram gunmen also detonated explosives and set fires to houses.
Those who were able to survive that attack hid in the bushes and watched as the government soldiers tried to subdue to extremists. Witnesses said Boko Haram even used female suicide bombers during the attack on the village. The incident left over 130 people injured.
