Funeral Held for Eight Nigerian Christians Killed After Driver ‘Deliberately’ Crashes Into Procession
JOS, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – Hundreds of family members and sympathizers on Saturday (April 27) attended a funeral in northeastern Nigeria for eight young Christians, six of them minors, who were killed when an off-duty security officer drove his vehicle into their Easter procession on April 21, sources said.
The officer, identified as Adamu Abubakar of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), reportedly had angry words with leaders of the Christian procession that delayed him and a passenger, off-duty police officer Murtala Hassan, from proceeding at a junction in Gombe, capital of Gombe state.
The Christian leaders of the Boys and Girls Brigade, an international, interdenominational Christian youth organization, let the two Muslim men pass through, but a survivor told Nigerian news outlet The Daily Trust that the driver warned them he would return, made a U-turn, switched off his headlights and rammed the procession from behind.
“This incident, no doubt, is motivated by terrorist acts, as the driver deliberately crashed into the procession,” the chairman of the Gombe State Battalion Brigade of the Boys Brigade, Isaac Kwadang, told Morning Star News. “The driver of the vehicle is a Muslim and an official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), while his passenger is a Muslim police officer.”
Killed were Ruth Samson Samanja, 13; Keziah Amos Kwatam, 13; and Polina Yusuf Samanja, 11 of the Girls Brigade company in Gombe, Kwadang said. From the Boys Brigade, those killed were Sunday Samuel Gurnet, 19; Irimiya Amos Ibrahim, 14; Joseph Daniel, 21; Joseph Danjuma Paul Gavan, 15; and Jesse Markus Baka, 15, he said.
The vehicle assault also sent 12 Christians to the hospital for treatment of injuries, Kwadang said.
“Both the dead and injured Christian youths are members of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) and Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Gombe,” he said. “Seven of the dead are from ECWA, while one is from COCIN.”
The two officers were also killed when crowds that survived the vehicle assault reportedly chased them down and mobbed them.
The killed and injured ECWA members were from congregations in Gombe and the Barunde, Tabra and Madaki areas of the town, while the slain victim from the COCIN was from the church at Y/Bogo, Kwadang said.
The incident occurred on Biu Road at Alheri Junction in Gombe, he said.
Chief Medical Director Shuaibu Muazu of the Gombe State Specialist Hospital told Morning Star News by phone that the hospital received eight corpses in its morgue.
Later the funeral service was held at the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Center in Gombe. Attending was the deputy governor of the state, Charles Iliya, and other government officials. The bodies were buried at the Christian cemetery in Gombe.
Nicholas Okoh, primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), noted that the assault was directed at people celebrating the resurrection of Christ.
“It is unfortunate that such a thing should happen on Easter Day,” he said. “It also shows that our country has not arrived [at the point] that people tolerate others. People are marching, showing joy, showing happiness, and somebody decides to crush them and kill so many for no reason.”
Garba Shehu, spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, said in a press statement that the president was saddened by the killing of the youths.
“My heart is filled with the pain that the families of the victims were facing as they buried these promising youngsters,” he said. “The entire nation is with you as experience this sad, indescribable loss. May the Almighty God comfort you at this difficult time.”
Nigeria ranked 12th on Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.
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Six Christians Killed in Church Attack in Burkina Faso
(Evangelical Focus) — Unidentified gunmen killed at least six people at a Protestant church in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday, authorities said.
According to local witnesses, the attackers arrived on seven motorbikes at the end of Sunday’s service and killed the pastor, two of his sons and three other worshipers.
“It is the first attack on a church since jihadist violence erupted in the West African country in 2016,” government spokesman Remy Fulgance Dandjinou said.
He also confirmed that the attack took place in the small northern town of Silgadji near Djibo, the capital of Soum province, and that two other victims are missing.
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‘If You Continue to Preach Jesus, We Will Not Spare You’: Nepali Pastor Filled With Fear – and Faith – Following Attack
Source: christiannews.net
‘If You Continue to Preach Jesus, We Will Not Spare You’: Nepali Pastor Filled With Fear – and Faith – Following Attack
Photo Credit: Morning Star News (Morning Star News) – More than a month after men claiming to be Maoists in Nepal assaulted Dhurba Kumar Pariyar, the 40-year-old pastor is still physically and mentally traumatized. “I still have headache and chest pain, though I am under strong medication,” Pastor Pariyar told Morning Star News. He later quoted...
‘If You Continue to Preach Jesus, We Will Not Spare You’: Nepali Pastor Filled With Fear – and Faith – Following Attack
(Morning Star News) – More than a month after men claiming to be Maoists in Nepal assaulted Dhurba Kumar Pariyar, the 40-year-old pastor is still physically and mentally traumatized.
“I still have headache and chest pain, though I am under strong medication,” Pastor Pariyar told Morning Star News.
He later quoted Matthew 5:10, Christ saying those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are blessed.
“I find courage in reading of the persecution that my fellow Christians are undergoing,” he said. “My suffering is little in comparison.”
One of the leaders at Devotees Nepali Assembly in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu, the pastor was riding a motorcycle on his way back from distributing free toys and stationary to Dalit children on March 24 in Sarlahi District when two motorcyclists with riders on extra seats stopped him 36 miles from Mahottari at about 7 p.m., he said.
Accompanying Pastor Pariyar on another motorcycle was the chief guest of a program organized by a Non-Governmental Organization for poor Dalits in Ramgopalpur, Mahottari District.
One of the riders asked Pastor Pariyar his name, and as soon as he confirmed his identity, the rider hit his motorcycle with a thick wooden stick while the other pulled him off, he said.
“One of them caught hold of me from my chest and pulled me down from my motorbike and dragged me towards the jungle,” Pastor Pariyar told Morning Star News.
While two men dragged him away, two others caught hold of his program guest, who is not a Christian, and aimed a knife at him, threatening to kill him if he interfered. They forced him to switch off his mobile phone, Pastor Pariyar said.
Twice Pastor Pariyar tried to escape, but each time they kicked him to the ground, he said.
“They said I am preaching foreign religion, converting people and ‘feeding’ on dollars in return,” Pastor Pariyar said. “They asked me to hand over all the [supposed, U.S.] dollars I am carrying to them, and they will spare my life. I asked them who were they to question my work and demand money from me, to which they said they were ‘underground Maoists.’”
While they were kicking him and beating him with wooden sticks and their fists and threatening to kill him if he did not hand over U.S. dollars to them, he said, a bright light from a passing vehicle fell on them, and they fled.
“They fled while warning me, ‘If you continue to preach the Jesus religion, we will not spare you – we will come and kill you, wherever you may go,’” he told Morning Star News.
The pastor, who is also president of BG Hands Ministries in Kathmandu, sustained injuries on his face, arms, elbows, knees and ankles, he said.
Pastor Pariyar and his guest immediately went to the area police station to report the attack, and then to Gadhimai Hospital, Lalbandi in Sarlahi District for treatment. The next morning the pastor registered a First Information Report in the Kesharganj Police Station after submitting a written complaint.
The Nepal Christian Society also reported the attack to the National Human Rights Commission, according to the Religious Liberty Forum Nepal (RLFN).
Police are investigating but have yet to find the assailants, Pastor Pariyar said.
“When I walk on the road or ride my motorbike, I am suddenly shaken with fear when a motorbike overtakes me,” he said, adding that twice he had previously received threats. “I am still in trauma from the incident. There is no outcome of the FIR that I registered.”
With his wife and 5-year-old son, he has served as a pastor of Devotees Nepali Assembly since 2011.
Uptick
Pastor Sagar Baizu, senior pastor and mentor of Pastor Pariyar, told Morning Star News he was shocked by a recent increase in the number of anti-Christian attacks in Nepal.
“The manner in which he was stopped in the jungle area and assaulted is astonishing,” Pastor Baizu said.
He said it is evident that pastors and other Christian workers are being identified and targeted.
“This incident along with other recent instances of increased targeting of Christian leaders reveals that Christians in Nepal are being spotted from among the general masses, watched regularly, their activities tracked, and then they are assaulted and extorted for money,” Pastor Baizu said.
He said he was further shocked that there is no security from the government and from political parties for Christians who are helping the poor and the needy.
“They are doing no harm to the society at large in any way yet are assaulted, harassed and put in jail,” Pastor Baizu said. “It is high time that the government should realize and step-up to provide security to the church and the Christian community. It is a matter of great concern that religious terrorism is increasing rapidly in Nepal. The way Hindu radicals are carrying out hate campaigns against the Christian community is a matter of great concern.”
Pastor Baizu, who was also attacked last year and has since received several phone threats, said Christians are deprived of basic human rights in Nepal, including the right to burial spaces.
“There is not even a burial ground for the Christians who die in Nepal,” he added.
An increase in persecution of Christians in Nepal began after a new criminal code was passed in October 2017, which took effect in August 2018.
Nepal was ranked 32nd on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
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Evangelicals in Chiapas Held After Refusing to Contribute to Catholic Festival
Evangelicals in Chiapas Held After Refusing to Contribute to Catholic Festival
Source: christiannews.net
Evangelicals in Chiapas Held After Refusing to Contribute to Catholic Festival
Evangelicals in Chiapas Held After Refusing to Contribute to Catholic Festival
(Evangelical Focus) — At least 12 native evangelicals were held illegally last Sunday in the municipality of Zinacantán (Chiapas, south Mexico).
They were attending a local district assembly to discuss issues of common interest. But the agenda of the gathering was changed as the leaders of the municipality addressed the organization of the Catholic festival of the “Holy Cross,” which is to be celebrated on May 2.
The evangelicals refused to contribute to the religious festival, said lawyer and member of “Mission 21 grams” Luis López Herrera. Herrera, who offers legal support to victims of religious intolerance in Chiapas, denounced that the 12 evangelical Christians were held against their will for almost 24 hours.
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--> Dear Reader, has ChristianNews.net been of benefit and a blessing to you? For many years now, the Lord has seen fit to use this small news outlet as a strong influential resource in keeping Christians informed on current events from a Biblical worldview. With much compromise and many falsehoods in modern-day Christianity, we strive to bring you the news by keeping Christ and His word in focus. If you have benefited from our news coverage, would you please prayerfully consider becoming a Christian News supporter by clicking here to make a one-time or monthly donation to help keep the truth of God's word widely and freely published and distributed? May Christ continue to be exalted through this work!Hong Kong Christians May Fall Victim to Revised Extradition Laws
(International Christian Concern) – Hong Kong is planning to amend its extradition laws to allow suspects to be sent to mainland China, a move that comes widely criticized by rights groups and Western countries.
On April 3, Hong Kong’s leaders launched the laws to grant the chief executive the right to order the extradition of wanted offenders to China, Macau and Taiwan as well as other countries not covered by Hong Kong’s existing extradition treaties.
Many fear that suspects in Hong Kong, regardless of their nationalities, could be arrested secretly and sent to China without due process.
Ying Fuk-tsang, director of the Divinity School of Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, joins the list of concerned Hong Kongers as he expresses his worries over potential arrests of Hong Kong Christians who minister to Chinese underground churches.
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--> Dear Reader, has ChristianNews.net been of benefit and a blessing to you? For many years now, the Lord has seen fit to use this small news outlet as a strong influential resource in keeping Christians informed on current events from a Biblical worldview. With much compromise and many falsehoods in modern-day Christianity, we strive to bring you the news by keeping Christ and His word in focus. If you have benefited from our news coverage, would you please prayerfully consider becoming a Christian News supporter by clicking here to make a one-time or monthly donation to help keep the truth of God's word widely and freely published and distributed? May Christ continue to be exalted through this work!Village in India’s Chhattisgarh State Uses Local Ordinance to Make Christianity Illegal
(International Christian Concern) — Under India’s constitution, people’s right to religious freedom is broadly protected by Article 25. In practice, however, this right has become overshadowed by conflicting laws and the actions local governments.
This fact of life in India was recently demonstrated by unconstitutional actions taken by village leaders in the village of Penkodo, located in India’s Chhattisgarh state. In Penkodo, village leaders passed a resolution that both condemned and prohibited the practice of Christianity. To justify these unconstitutional actions, the village leaders used local laws allowing them to pass village resolutions aimed at protecting their traditional customs and culture.
According to local reports, the residents of Penkodo became irritated with local Christians because they were not participating in traditional Adivasi festivals. Village leaders asked the Christians to stop practicing their faith, but the Christians refused.
Upset, the village leaders drafted an official ordinance on April 13, condemning Christianity and claiming it was harming local practices and traditions.
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