NIGERIA: Archbishop urges prayers, action after attacks leave hundreds dead

By Matthew Davies, March 09, 2010 [Episcopal News Service] Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi is appealing for prayers after more than 500 people are reported dead in the Jos region of Nigeria where two villages were attacked by gangs during the night of March 7.

"Some of these communities may never again be recognized in history because generations have been wiped out," Kwashi said in a statement posted o the Church Mission Society website. "Hundreds of corpses of men, women, children and grandchildren littered the burned houses, roads, bush paths, farm areas and hiding places."

The archbishop, who provides oversight for 11 dioceses throughout the Province of Jos in the Church of Nigeria, encouraged "all who trust in the Lord to keep praying and never give up."

The full scale of the massacre has yet to be realized as various eye-witness reports and updates continue to surface from human rights agencies and journalists working in the region.

While some reports claim that the attacks are religiously motivated, others acknowledge that the situation is far more complex and cite a lack of resources and bad governance as the primary cause.

In his statement, Kwashi said: "I know as of fact of many Christian religious, political and community leaders who are willing and prepared peacefully to arrive at workable conditions for people to live with. I also know as of fact that there are Muslim religious, political and community leaders who are willing to find solutions."

Kwashi asked: "Is there no other way by which matters can be resolved except through this sadistic and cruel way of making peoples' lives miserable? For me, as a Christian, human life is so sacred that no one, absolutely no one, should tamper with it, no matter what religious faith you belong to. Human life is so sacred and we have to teach and train people to value it: it is a gift from God."

Kwashi questioned how the attackers were able to enter the villages since a curfew had been enforced since Jan. 17, when more than 200 people had been killed in religious clashes in the region. Some reports are saying that the recent attacks are revenge for the January killings.

"It was curfew time when these attackers came in and carried out their heinous activities. Who are responsible for these areas? What happened to those who should enforce the curfew?" Kwashi asked. "The purpose of the curfew is to stop events like this."

He pointed to a failure of the Nigerian government, which he said should have been providing full security in the region.

But he also recognized that "the new dimension these attacks are assuming is revealing a system of well-trained terror groups. Their merciless precision and fearlessness should give any government serious concern. The earlier that these kinds of groups are rounded up, the better for everybody."

During a March 8 press conference with Gabon President Ali Bongo, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on the Nigerian government to bring those responsible for the killings to justice.

-- Matthew Davies is editor and international correspondent of the Episcopal News Service.