CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas described Mrs. Bature’s ordeal as “a grim example of the unimaginable grief” that he said had engulfed many families in the Nigerian State that is experiencing attacks.
“Our heartfelt prayers and condolences are with Reverend Dauda Bature’s family and congregation, and with all those who lost loved ones in the violence in recent days,” Mr. Mervyn said.
He added, “Mrs. Bature’s ordeal is a grim example of the unimaginable grief, hardship and uncertainty inflicted on families in Kaduna State, at the heart of this crisis of lawlessness. We continue to call for a holistic security plan to defeat this threat and to enable civilians to go about their lives in safety.”
“These levels of insecurity constitute a national emergency, and we appeal to the Nigerian government to address every source of violence urgently, in order to arrest the country’s progressive decline into failed statehood,” the CSW official said.
The Christian foundation expresses concern that since 2015, thousands have died and tens of thousands have been displaced in “a campaign of attacks” on predominantly Christian communities in central Nigeria by assailants of Fulani origin.
CSW says that for the Fulani people, religion is “increasingly either a recruitment factor or a governing ethos.”
Kaduna State has become an epicenter for kidnapping and banditry activity as communities have suffered relentless attacks since 2011, with a significant uptick in 2015 characterized by a steadily rising number of abductions and murders of members of the Clergy and church goers.
The human rights foundation gives the example of an incident on October 31 when gunmen attacked the Emmanuel Baptist Church at Kakau Daji in Chikun LGA, killing two people and abducting 66 others.
“The abductors, who demanded a N99 million (US$240,400.00) ransom, released a video on 6 November in which they stated they were targeting Christians deliberately, and shot five young men selected at random, three of whom died,” the leadership of the foundation recounts, adding that the remaining captives were freed on December 4 following payment of an undisclosed ransom.
The foundation also makes reference to the September 12 attack in which suspected Fulani militants shot and mutilated the body of Reverend Silas Yakubu Ali, senior pastor of ECWA Kibori-Asha Awuce in Zonzon District Church Council (DCC).
