On Christmas Eve, Christiana returned to her house after church and began preparing food for the following morning. She was expecting friends, neighbors and family members to stop by. Moments after she started cooking, she heard the staccato of gunshots all around her house.
Bullets hit the door to her home and shattered windows. Fearing for her life, she made a daring escape by rushing out the back. She was struck by a bullet but made it to safety with no life-threatening injuries. However, many in Central Nigeria would not be so fortunate.
Local authorities in Plateau State announced 145 Christians were killed in the attacks. Among those was a Baptist pastor. Ibrahim Moses, a resident in Plateau State, tells GCR, “Reverend Solomon Gushe of Dares village was killed during these attacks, along with nine members of his church. In a different village—Mushu—the terrorists killed sixteen Christians.”
Solomon Dakum, another resident of Plateau State, says, “As long as the Nigerian government continues to treat terrorists with kid gloves, Christians will continue to face persecution from Muslim terrorists. I fear that Christians in Central Nigeria may go into extinction.”
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Reverend Daniel Okoh, the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, issued a statement saying, “We strongly condemn the acts of violence and the destruction of houses, worship centers and valuable properties carried out against Christians in Plateau State.”
In 1 Peter 4:12, it says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” We mourn with our persecuted brothers and sisters in Nigeria, but we are not surprised at the hatred others have for Christians. Instead, we come to the Lord in prayer and ask for His peace and resilience.
Join us now in praying for our family in Nigeria.
Lord, when we see a number like 145 Christians killed, we’re stunned. We can’t believe there is such barbarism still in this world. Our brothers and sisters just wanted to celebrate the birth of Christ and instead had to run for their very lives. God, we pray Your peace over those who lost loved ones—please comfort them in their time of struggle and loss. We pray healing for those like Christiana Luka, who were injured trying to escape extremists. And we pray harmony over the country of Nigeria, a country where more Christians are killed each year than the rest of the world combined. Build Your presence there and may Your light shine brightly. Amen.
Photo caption: The remains of a vehicle torched by terrorists
About the authors
Abdias Paso and Tim Dustin are writers for Global Christian Relief where they’re gifted with the opportunity to share the stories of the persecuted with the Church around the world. Get the latest blogs and prayer requests at GlobalChristianRelief.org
