- The Gwoza Christian Community Association (GCCA) has revealed that Boko Haram insurgents destroyed 148 of 176 church buildings in Gwoza, Borno State, displacing more than 36,000 families and killing hundreds of Christians.
- In a report titled “Unspoken Genocide”, the group accused the government and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of remaining silent while the Christian homeland has yet to be rebuilt.
- GCCA also expressed regret that Christian religious knowledge is no longer taught in schools and that Christians are deprived of land to worship
The Gwoza Christian Community Association (GCCA) in Borno State has revealed that Boko Haram insurgents have destroyed 148 of the community’s 176 church buildings, detailing years of persecution and displacement.
In a statement titled “Unspoken Genocide: GCCA’s Account of the Persecution of Christians in Gwoza, Borno State” signed by Rev. Dr. Ayuba John Basa and Rev. Philipbus K. Goma, the group said that in a 2013 attack, 74 towns and villages were looted, 36,946 families were displaced and 292 people were killed. By mid-2014, 12 priests had been murdered and more than 2,400 Christian homes razed to the ground, they added.
GCCA accused the government and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of being silent amid the destruction, lamenting that reconstruction efforts in Gwoza have been uneven with few Christian houses rebuilt while thousands of Muslim houses have been repaired.
The group also condemned the cancellation of Christian religious knowledge courses in schools and the replacement of churches with mosques, noting that more than 107,000 Christians remain displaced.
GCCA calls on governments to protect all citizens regardless of their faith, urges independent investigations, equitable reconstruction and international intervention, and declares:
“The time for denial and silence is over. Please talk about it until the world knows.”
