A group of Muslim youths, on Friday attacked St. Philips Catholic
Parish, Baki Iku, very close to Zuma Rock in Niger State.
According to eyewitnesses, some Catholics had gone to the church to pray
and were attacked by the Muslims who claimed that Friday is their day
of prayer and that the Church only has right to worship on Sundays.
Information gathered from eyewitnesses said, they
were destroying the Church properties: the doors and the windows. Some
soldiers managed to get there later but a lot of harms have been done to
the building, while the Christians ran away in different directions to
avoid being killed.
It should be recalled that Alhaji Kabiru Sokoto had on Christmas day
four years ago (December 25 20111) detonated a bomb that killed over 200
Catholics and passersby at St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, close
to St. Philips that was destroyed.
Rev Fr. Luka Sylvester Gopep, the Vicar-General of the Diocese confirmed
the incident.
He said, “Sometime around 2pm, some Muslim youths in their hundreds left
their Mosque after their Friday Jumat prayer and rushed to the Church
premises, climbed the wall and destroyed everything in the Church: the
windows, the alter, musical instruments, the chapel.
“The security man in the church premises was beaten to pulp. Some women
who were holding a prayer meeting were chased away. The seminarian who
is resident in the premises was also beaten up and chased away.”
Just last week, Mrs Eunice Olawale Elisha, a mobile preacher of the
Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was killed by some fanatical
Muslims in Kubwa, FCT.
