'Barbaric': Muslims Reportedly Burn Down Christian Church for 2nd Time, Sparking Horror in Nigeria

Muslims reportedly burned down a Christian church in Nigeria on Aug. 10 in yet another assault on believers that underscores the serious nature of percolating persecution inside the African nation.

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Associate Pastor Samson Ogbebor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News he received news the church was in flames around 3 a.m.

It’s tragically the second time the house of worship, located in the town of Kontagora in Nigeria’s Niger state, has been destroyed. It was an act the Rev. Bulus Dauda Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State Chapter, called “barbaric and unwarranted” and “painful.”

As for Ogbebor, he recounted the details of the grievous incident and some of the unfortunate history.

“I got a distress call that our church was on fire, and on getting there I met a church being burned down and properties therein looted by hoodlums,” Ogbebor said. “This church has faced lots of challenges.”

He continued, “About 10 years ago, some Muslim hoodlums came and burnt it down completely, and through self-efforts we were able to rebuild the worship sanctuary.”

Despite roadblocks from Muslims purportedly aimed at stopping the church from being reconstricted after the first fire, Ogbebor said his congregation was eventually able to rebuild.

Even though the church was reconstructed, the preacher said persecution persisted.

“We eventually completed the building of the church building, but they have not relented in their opposition to allowing us as Christians to have a place of worship in the town,” Ogbebor said. “For a second time, they have burnt down the sanctuary.”

The Christians are still processing what unfolded, but deacon John Aboje is calling on local Muslim leaders to advocate for religious liberty in the area.

He implored the “state government and the Kontagora Muslim emirate to look into the issue by compelling the perpetrators to allow freedom of worship.”

Yohanna echoed this statement as well, urging public officials to take action.

“There’s the need for government officials in Kontagora to take strict measures towards putting an end to such ungodly activities of fanatics,” he said. “This incident has created religious tension.”

Mohammed Bago, governor of the Niger state, did condemn the act and pledged to push toward religious freedom, with Aisha Wakaso from his media team releasing a statement.

“Our state utilizes its diversity and the peaceful coexistence of all religious and ethnic groups,” Wakaso said. “We will not condone this stupid act of violence.”

Security agencies are investigating what unfolded.

CBN News has extensively covered the dire state of Christian persecution in Nigeria. In April, the Rev. Manasseh Ibrahim was reportedly killed as he traveled to provide ministry to church members, according to sources who spoke to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.

And last November, Oluwakemi Moses, the wife of a Nigerian pastor, was murdered by terrorists as she traveled home with her 2-month-old baby.

Tragically, it doesn’t end there. The Rev. Charles Onomhoale Igechi, a Catholic priest who was vice principal of St. Michael College, Ikhueniro, was slaughtered last year while driving through Benin, Edo in Nigeria. These events aren’t new, though international attention on the matter is continuing to grow.

Violence in Nigeria broke through the global news cycle in May 2022, when Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a 25-year-old Christian college student, was stoned to death by a Muslim mob.

The killing of Yakubu, a Shehu Shagari College of Education student in Sokoto, Nigeria, was purportedly filmed and shared on social media, horrifying the international community.

Persecution trackers have extensively documented the severity of the issue. Open Doors’ World Watch List 2024 placed Nigeria in the sixth spot in its rankings of nations where anti-Christian persecution and discrimination are the worst.

A line from a press release announcing the results read, “More than 82% of Christians killed across the globe for faith reasons were in Nigeria.”

Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern (ICC) and one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on religious freedom and persecution, told CBN News last year that his organization’s “2023 Persecutors of the Year” report also reveals the full scope of the problem.

“Most Americans have no idea what’s going on in Nigeria, but imagine this: for the last 20 years, probably up to about 100,000 Christians have been murdered,” King said. “Three-and-a-half million Christians, their lands have been taken from them, and the government’s pretty much done nothing.”

In addition to killings and violence, social pressures are also intense. ADF International recently sounded the alarm over two Nigerian universities — one federal and one state — that have reportedly barred Christian students from “being able to use any facilities for worship [or] fellowship.”

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