Muslims halt rebuilding of Nigerian church

LAFIA, Nigeria — As soon as Christians in Lafia, the capital city of Nasarawa state, tried to rebuild a Reformed Church building that Muslims burned down two years ago, more than 200 Islamists attacked the workers.

The rebuilding came to a halt, and the Nasarawa state government banned reconstruction of the facility. Pastor Jerry Modibo, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Nasarawa state chapter witnessed the attack. "The Muslims were chanting, ‘Death to Christians, death to infidels. This town is for Muslims, we don’t want Christians here.’" Banning church-building, he said, is just one way Nasarawa is stifling Christianity in the central Nigerian state.