The federal government has eaten back its words that Boko Haram and the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists were not targeting Christians and Christian communities.
The minister of information and culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed who addressed the media in Abuja yesterday admitted that the dreaded terrorist had changed tactics, targeting Christians and Christian communities so as to create religious war and throw the nation into chaos.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had in a United States-based Christianity Today magazine article dismissed the assertion by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that the insurgents were primarily embarking on Christian cleansing.
President Buhari who paid a tribute to the Michika local government area chairman of CAN in Adamawa State, Pastor Lawan Andimi, who was abducted and killed by insurgents, said it was not true that Christians were the primary targets of Boko Haram insurgents.
“Christianity in Nigeria is not – as some seem intent on believing – contracting under pressure, but expanding and growing in numbers approaching half of our population today. Nor is it the case that Boko Haram is primarily targeting Christians: not all of the Chibok schoolgirls were Christians; some were Muslims, and were so at the point at which they were taken by the terrorists,” Buhari said.
But he was faulted by CAN’s director of public affairs Kwamkur Samuel who insisted that “the sole purpose of Boko Haram is the killing of Christians and Islamisation of Nigeria.”
However, Muhammed contradicted the president saying that the insurgents had altered their strategy because of “a renewed onslaught by our tireless military.”
He said Boko Haram terrorists were not used to discriminating between Christians and Muslims when they carried out their attacks in the past.
He said churches and mosques, Christians and Muslims were attacked without discrimination in the past.
“Recall that Boko Haram insurgents didn’t use to discriminate between Christians and Muslims when they carried out their attacks in the past. Churches and mosques, Christians and Muslims were attacked without discrimination.
“When they targeted motor parks, the religion, gender, ethnicity or political leaning of the victims didn’t matter, as long as they inflicted the maximum damage to lives and property.
“But in the wake of a renewed onslaught by our tireless military against Boko Haram and their ISWAP allies in recent times, the insurgents have apparently changed their strategy.
“They have started targeting Christians and Christian villages for a specific reason, which is to trigger a religious war and throw the nation into chaos.
“Apparently, they have realised how emotive and divisive religion can be, when exploited by unscrupulous persons.”
“The insurgents, who delude themselves as Muslims whereas they are nothing more than blood-thirsty, rapacious killers who subscribe to no religion, have recently started targeting Christians with a view to sowing the seed of confusion between the two great religions.
“This did not in any way signify that they have stopped attacking Muslims. But they seem to now have a deliberate policy of attacking Christians.”
He said the killing of Andimi and 11 Christians on Christmas Eve, among others fit into the new strategy.
Nevertheless, the minister described as “absurd and unfair” to those who are daily battling the insurgents to insinuate a systematic campaign to persecute Christians in Nigeria.
“The truth is that, having run out of options in their battle against Nigeria, the insurgents are desperate to stay relevant, to stay in the news, hence their cowardly and senseless strategy targeting Christians, as part of their increasing resort to the use of guerilla tactics,” he said.
He, therefore, appealed to religious leaders, both Christians and Muslims, not to fall for the desperate move by the insurgents to divide the nation and weaken the resolve to deal the insurgents the mortal blow.
With Punch report
