Nigerian Christians called ‘endangered species’

LAGOS, Nigeria — The leader of a Christian organization said  February 23 that Christians in northern Nigeria had become an “endangered species,” citing incessant killings, attacks and destruction of their property.

“Christians in northern Nigeria have suffered untold hardship as a result of the implementation of the Islamic legal code in 12 of the country’s 36 states,” said Margaret Elioku, chairperson of the Eastern Christians Summit. Elioku appealed to Christian leaders worldwide to come to the aid of Christians in northern Nigeria by pressuring the Nigerian government, especially the political leadership at the state levels, to respect the religious rights of all persons. A Christian university student in Adamawa state of northern Nigeria was brutally murdered by a group of four Muslim assassins who were allegedly assigned by a Muslim politician in Gombi to kill her.

Thousands have been killed and property worth billions of dollars has been destroyed as a result of sharia-induced conflicts during the past two years in northern Nigeria.