LAGOS: After a week of intense ramblings from Nigeria's Islamist militant group Boko Haram, the country's Christian community hopes the government will fight back against the armed organization that has left the country on edge and facing sectarianism. “We are all Nigeria and we want our country to be safe for all people, Muslim and Christian and whomever,” said Abuja-based priest Jonathan Ngeti, who was in Lagos on Sunday as part of a meeting of Christian priests to discuss the ongoing conflict with the Boko Haram. Ngeti told Bikyamasr.com that “right now the government is struggling as the militants threaten and kill our people, so we are going to call for major government action to help end this terrorist group.” The priests were meeting after Boko Haram claimed it was to begin abducting Christian women in an effort to force Christian families out of areas of the country they would like to see turned into an Islamic state. Early last week, another Christian priest told Bikyamasr.com that the continued violence by the Islamist group would not end in their victory over the country. “If we look at history, we know that groups that use violence and hate against others do not win and the same will be for Boko Haram in Nigeria,” the priest told Bikyamasr.com on Monday morning. He argued that Christians in the country, while fearful for their lives and the future, “are strong and believe that the violence will not destroy the country.” He added, “the power of faith is strong and we hope that soon, this group will stop its killing because it will not lead them to victory or paradise.” He was responding to a Boko Haram spokesman, who told Bikyamasr.com the day before that the Islamists were in the process of planning a series of attacks against the Christian population in the country, in an effort to create an Islamic state. According to the spokesman, speaking via telephone from northern Nigeria, the group “will launch a number of attacks, coordinated and part of the plan to eradicate Christians from certain parts of the country.” Boko Haram have taken responsibility for a number of bomb attacks on Christian churches across the country since a Christmas Day bombing left dozens of people killed. The government has promised to crackdown on the group and has deployed military units across the country in an attempt to curtail the Islamic group's activities, arresting and killing a number of members in recent weeks. But the spokesman said the government “cannot be prepared for what is to come.” He said, without giving specific details, “we will create so much effort to end the Christian presence in our push to have a proper Islamic state that the Christians won't be able to stay.” Violence blamed on the militant group, who has called for an Islamic state in Nigeria, has since mid-2009 claimed more than 1,000 lives, including more than 300 this year alone, according to rights groups. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/QMn1B Tags: Boko Haram, Christians, featured, Nigeria Section: Latest News, Religion, West Africa
