Muslim wedding ceremonies were the prime targets of suicide bombings.
The suicide attacks in Gwoza, Borno State, which tragically claimed the lives of both Muslims and Christians, disturbed Christian leaders in Nigeria.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) president, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, voiced his displeasure over the resurgence of suicide bombings in the country and the danger they pose to people’s lives and means of subsistence in a statement issued on behalf of Christian leaders in Nigeria on Wednesday, July 3. This senseless act of violence starkly highlights the evil that terrorism represents and the necessity of working together to combat it.
The Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shetim, said that after a female suicide bomber targeted a Muslim couple at their wedding, there were at least two more suicide bombings at different locations that left over 30 people dead and many others injured.
The two subsequent bombings on Saturday (June 29) targeted a funeral and a hospital in Gwoza, close to the border with Cameroon.
No one has taken responsibility for the bombings. However, the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram and the terrorist group with which a faction has aligned, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have long been active in the area and are suspected.
The town’s cemetery was the site of the second female suicide bomber’s explosion, which occurred after the attacks on Saturday and the immediate burial of the Muslim victims.
Christians who could identify victims in the first blast took them and buried the bodies on Sunday (June 30).
Because they both follow a radical Islamist ideology, Boko Haram and ISWAP refer to Muslims who do not share their beliefs as “infidels” and target them in the same way that they do Christians.
Two million people were displaced, and 40,000 people died because of Boko Haram’s campaign to establish sharia law in Nigeria, starting in Borno State.
Saturday’s attacks resulted in reports of limb and skull fractures.
Okoh commended security agents for their efforts to contain terrorism.
He urged them to continue their efforts and emphasized the importance of every intervention in preventing a return to the dark days of suicide attacks. “We must not let down our guards, as the situation could escalate and affect not only innocent lives but also worship centers and other large gatherings.”
The president of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), the Rev. Amos Mohzo, is a native of Gwoza County. He told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that he lost some church members and relatives in the attacks.
Pastor Mohzo called for the government to make concerted efforts to stop terrorists in Nigeria.
Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, according to Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, at 3,300.
Nigeria ranked third in the number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings, totaling 750, as per the report.
Nigeria remained at No. 6 in the 2024 WWL, which ranks the most challenging countries for Christians, just as it did the previous year.