Prepared June 2011

I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. … They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4)

In June 2010 we issued an action for Rev Ishaku Kadah (aged 48) and his spouse Selina (aged 45) who were dragged from their home in Boto, Bauchi State, northern Nigeria and were murdered.

Unfortunately, murders of Christians in the northern state of Bauchi have continued. On 4 May 2011 a group of Fulani militants attacked Kurum Dodo village, Buachi State, about midnight.

Sixteen people were murdered including Dune Reke (aged 35) and three of her children. Dune was the spouse of Church of Christ in Nigeria pastor Joshua Reke. Dune had been fleeing with Fyali (aged one) and Faith (aged four) when the three of them were hacked down by attackers armed with machetes. Their daughter Sun (aged 13) was hacked to death in her bed. Their son Seth (aged seven) was missed by the attackers and slept through the violence. Twenty homes were burnt in the attack.

Jaruma village in Toro Local Government Area, Bauchi, is attacked (234next)

Pastor Joshua Reke, who has been in ministry for over five years, serves in the village inhabited by members of the Seyawa ethnic group.

On 16 May 2011 at around 2 am militants invaded the home of Church of Christ in Nigeria pastor Irmiya Maigida (aged 55) and his wife Keziya (aged 48), in Jaruma village of Bauchi State. Keziya attempted to flee the attack and was shot. She was then hacked with machetes and then the attackers rubbed a white substance into her wounds that was painful until she was unconscious. Irmiya was shot multiple times in the abdomen. Their neighbour, church secretary Brother Joshua Mana, was murdered in the attack and his house set on fire with children sleeping inside. Neighbours rescued the children after the attackers had left.

Family members loaded the wounded couple into a car and headed for the hospital. Irmiya died before reaching the hospital, after being stopped and delayed at a police road block. Pastor Maigida was the fifth pastor to be murdered in Bauchi State in the last month.

Take Action Now: points to include in your email (see below – You Can Help)

Points to make in your email:

• Express deep concern at the murders of Dane Reke, three of her children, Fyali, Faith and Sun, and 12 others in Kurum Dodo village, Bauchi State on 4 May.
• Also express concern for the murders of pastor Irmiya Maigida and Joshua Mana in Jaruma village, Toro Local Government Area, Bauchi State on 16 May.
• Ask what steps have been taken to investigate the murders and bring those responsible to justice.
• Urge that the Government of Nigeria take appropriate steps to end religiously and ethnically motivated violence, especially in Bauchi State.

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