Nigeria - Monday May 02, 2005
ARSONISTS BURN DOWN CHURCH FOR FOURTH TIME
Muslim extremists suspected in string of attacks in Kaduna.
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| Inside the burned sanctuary |
May 2 (Compass) -- Unidentified arsonists set fire to the Conquerors Chapel in the Hayin Banki sector of the city of Kaduna, Nigeria, on April 10, destroying the meeting place of the Word of Faith Ministries for the fourth time in five years.
The congregation has rebuilt its sanctuary after each previous attack. To date, police have not arrested any suspects in the string of arson attacks.
The Rev. Ndubuisi Chiazor, pastor of the congregation, told Compass that on the day of the incident, he held a meeting with his board of elders at the chapel.
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| Rev. Chiazor |
“We all left the church in my car after the meeting to fetch musical instruments and a generator we had left in another part of the town,” Chiazor said. “Just eight minutes after we departed, I was called on the phone [and told] that the church has been set on fire by some Muslims.
“I rushed back to the premises and found the church on fire. The building was completely razed within 40 minutes. Everything we had has been completely burned.”
Local Muslim Extremists Suspected
Chiazor suspects Muslim extremists living in the Hayin Banki neighborhood of perpetrating the attacks.
“From the comments we hear from Muslims in this area, we know that they have resolved to force us out of the area through terrorist acts. We hear them all the time say, ‘You must leave this place. We shall build a mosque on this land where your church is standing.’
“It is a deliberate act,” Chiazor added. “The Muslims burned down this church. This is the fourth time, and the sad thing is that in all these cases, no single Muslim has been arrested for acts of arson and terrorism against us. The government has not done anything to arrest the situation.”
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| Outside the burned chapel |
The church is located less than a mile from the Baptist Theological Seminary of Kaduna, an institution that has also been burned down by Muslim extremists and later rebuilt.
“This Church Will Not Move”
Chiazor stressed that he is prepared to die rather than move from Hayin Banki. “Let me assure you that this church will not move out of this place,” he said.
Despite the resolve of the church’s leadership, a majority of the congregational members have left. Word of Faith Ministries counted 500 members at the onset of the arson attacks, but today less than 150 remain.
“Some of our members have left the church; others have moved completely out of Kaduna city out of fear,” Chiazor said.
First Islamic Law, Then Attacks
He said the string of arson attacks began with the introduction of the sharia (Islamic) legal code in Kaduna state in the year 2000. When sharia became law, Muslims in the area demanded that Word of Faith cease holding church services.
Soon, local Muslims built a mosque beside the church, Chiazor reported, and afterward demanded that the church be moved in preference to the mosque.
“When we told them it is impossible for us to relocate the church or suspend church services, they started burning down the church,” he said.
The Rev. Joseph Hayap, secretary of the Kaduna state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Compass, “We have reported the burning down of the church to the police and they are still investigating the incident. We are hoping that this will put an end to the burning down of this church.”
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