Nigeria

JOS, Nigeria  – The Nigerian military's discovery here of a Muslim terrorist base full of ammunition and explosives on Saturday (May 19) refutes Islamist claims that Christians have been bombing their own churches, a local pastor said.

Following an intensive three-day search by Nigeria's Special Military Task Force that found four Improvised Explosive Devices – along with one that detonated without casualties – the pastor of a church less than two kilometers away said God has vindicated area Christians.

"It's a vindication, as in the past Muslims, after attacking Christian churches, have claimed that Christians have been responsible for these bombings," said the pastor, whose name is withheld for security reasons. "But now, everyone knows that Boko Haram has carried out the attacks and bombings on Christians and our churches in collaboration with other local Muslims in Jos." more >>

A pastor and at least 20 worshippers were killed when gunmen suspected to be Islamist militants opened fire in two separate incidents targeting worship services in northern Nigeria Sunday.

In the first attack, gunmen in the northern city of Kano targeted an area in the Bayero University campus where churches hold Sunday services, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 22 others, The Associated Press reported, quoting an account by the Nigerian Red Cross.

Kano state's police commissioner, Ibrahim Idris, said the gunmen entered into the campus on motorcycles and threw small explosives made out of soda cans around the area inside Bayero University. The worshippers tried to escape but gunmen opened fire. "By the time we responded, they entered [their] motorcycles and disappeared into the neighborhood," Idris was quoted as saying. more >>

JOS, Nigeria, April 25 (Compass Direct News) – One person was killed and nine others were injured last night after suspected Islamic extremists attacked a TV viewing center in a Christian area of Jos where a crowd had gathered to watch soccer.

At about 10:15 p.m. at the viewing center, one of many such establishments popular in Nigeria for watching soccer matches, the attackers drove past the site and threw an explosive device at hundreds of Christians watching the match, eyewitnesses told Compass.

Some 10 minutes after the bombing, security agents evacuated the injured to Janvak Hospital just a few meters away. Medical personnel at the hospital were treating four of them under strict supervision of police and other security agents. Plateau state spokesman Pam Ayuba reportedly said one person died in the blast. more >>

A deadly church bombing related to an Easter service held in Nigeria has once again prompted a persecution watchdog to ask for prayers aimed at helping Christians in the country respond to the violence appropriately.

"It's obviously deliberate when on Christmas Day and on Easter Sunday you have these violent attacks against churches and Christians. It's not coincidental," Open Doors Senior Communications Specialist Paul Estabrooks told The Christian Post Monday. "The big challenge is how do you overcome evil with good biblically and non-violently?"

At least 38 people were killed Sunday as a suicide car bomber detonated powerful explosives on a busy road outside a church that was holding a morning Easter service. more >>

At least 38 people were killed Sunday as a suicide car bomber detonated powerful explosives on a busy road outside a church in Nigeria that was holding a morning Easter service.

The bomber apparently wanted to target All Nations Christian Assembly Church in Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna state, as churchgoers worshipped at an Easter service. ECWA Good News Church in the neighborhood was also affected.

The bomber first tried to enter into the gate of the All Nations church but was prevented from doing so by security guards, witnesses said. more >>

Nigeria's Islamist terror group Boko Haram, which has killed numerous Christians in the recent past, has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a church in the central city of Jos on Sunday that left at least three Christians, including a toddler, dead and 50 injured.

"We carried out the attack on COCIN (the Christian Church of Nigeria) church in Jos today and we did what we did as part of our resolve to avenge the killings and dehumanization of Muslims in Jos in the last 10 years," Boko Haram's spokesman, Abul Qaqa, told Nigerian media in a conference call Sunday.

A car carrying explosives struck the church compound during the worship service and exploded, according to local media. "We attacked simply because it's a church and we can decide to attack any other church," Boko Haram warned. "We have just started." more >>