Nigerian Christian Testifies of Boko Haram’s Violence

ICC Note:
An anonymous Christian pastor is asking for prayer in the face of tremendous persecution from the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, whose name translated means “Western education is sin”. Church attendance is down in the North of the country as Christians stay home in fear for their lives. 
07/02/2012 Nigeria (ONN) –  A Nigerian pastor is calling for international prayer over the violence directed at Christians in that country.
Most of the violence has been directed at Christians, including bombings of churches in northern Nigeria in recent weeks.
Jonathan Racho of International Christian Concern (ICC) recently spoke with one of the Nigerian pastors about the situation.
“The level of violence, the level of persecution that the church in Nigeria is facing is unprecedented, and this is because the Islamic radical group Boko Haram is using suicide bomb attackers to attack churches and kill Christians,” Racho asserts.
The pastor, who remains anonymous to protect himself, his family and his church point to the fact that the government has been largely unable to curb the violence because Boko Haram is part of the government, military and police. But that has not kept him from issuing a plea for government action.
“The Christian leader in his message to Christians around the world said, and I quote, ‘There’s nothing above prayers, so pray for us,'” the ICC spokesman relays.
Christians in northern Nigeria have been so frightened by the attacks that only small numbers are attending services. Many are opting instead to conduct prayer sessions in their homes.
Moderate Moslems who do not agree with tactics of Boko Haram have also been targeted for violence.
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