A group of indigenous Christians of Borno State under the auspices of Gwoza Christian Community Association (GCCA), has accused Governor Kashim Shettima of negligence concerning Boko Haram attacks on their communities in which 46 villages were sacked and their areas made the operational headquarters of the insurgency.
A group of indigenous Christians of Borno State under the auspices of Gwoza Christian Community Association (GCCA), has accused Governor Kashim Shettima of negligence concerning Boko Haram attacks on their communities in which 46 villages were sacked and their areas made the operational headquarters of the insurgency.
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In an open letter to Shettima signed by its contact man, Elder Ayuba J. Bassa, the group gave detailed analyses of their situation, saying that over 14,000 of their members have been displaced into neighboring states and the Republic of Cameroon. They complained that their children are dying of malnutrition and other health cases in their hideouts.
Giving a detailed background of their situation, the group said that the governor was unaware, the Christians in Gwoza are deeply unhappy about the non-action of his government in response to their condition. They said they did not really believe governor was being updated about what is actually going on by their representatives on his cabinet or by those in the House of Assembly.
“A total of 618 families (not individuals) have been displaced from their houses to various places in Nigeria as well as in places in Cameroon. There were a total of 46 Churches that have been burnt and destroyed while a total of 541 houses were also burnt and destroyed. As at 23/10/2013, a total of 46 villages were completely displaced; while a total of 108 houses have been vandalized, some of these houses are being occupied by the insurgents atop the mountain hills. More of concern is the plight of 68 widows whose husbands were either shot or slaughtered in front of their family members. We have full documentation of these atrocities against Christians and yet your Deputy Governor during his two visits to the area has never found time to even commiserate with the Christians, but were deliberately avoided.”
Continuing, the villagers asked whether they are perhaps not being considered to be Borno State citizens.
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“Shops destroyed at Kirawa were given N3million, we also reliably informed that the sum of twenty five million naira (N25,000,000.00) was also given to the butchers from Gwoza at the Maiduguri Abbattoir. Everyone knows that the Abattoir is the breeding ground of the insurgency activities most of whom have gone back to Gwoza as sponsored insurgents. They have now made the mountain hills their headquarters. While the whole lot of over 13 to 14 thousand Christians are homeless and are refugees without basic needs after fleeing their homes. Are we bastards that deserve not an iota of attention?”
The group noted that resistance but for its respect for constituted authority, its members have what it takes to resist the insurgents.
“We have the capacity to retaliate even more devastatingly, but two wrongs do not make a right,” the letter said. “When peace was visible especially at Bayan Dutse and Barawa District in particular, confirmed information reached us that the civilian JTF was sponsored to the area in order to retaliate the actions of the army JTF on innocent civilian Christians of Barawa. A list of eighteen (18) persons was given to them out of which they succeeded in apprehending four (4) including a former vice Chairman of Gwoza Local Govt Area: To date no one has been able to see them. This was politically motivated under the cover of insurgent activities- branding them as Boko - Haram. That Civilian JTF that underwent that infamous mission were themselves Boko-Haram from the Maiduguri Abbattoir who actually ran away to Maiduguri when the JTF came to Barawa in April this year. In order to see them as legitimate Civilian JTF, some of them were told to adopt Christian names such as Bitrus, Yohanna, etc instead of their Muslim names. We have no regrets to state categorically before you that one key elected politician from the area and also the district head comes from the current headquarters of Boko- Haram on the Gwoza hills at Gwavaka in Ghwa`a. May be you may like to hear that on 29th September, 2013, two days to independence day, Boko- Haram village-Head was turbaned in the area where four cows were slaughtered in celebrations. It was the cows of the displaced Christians.
The group warned that in the circumstances, if pushed to the wall, we will have to actually defend ourselves and that is not a threat because every human being has the instinct to survive. “It is not because we don't have that capacity of retaliation or taking our plight for solutions elsewhere,” they said. “We do have them such as the ICC, US Congress, International Development Agencies, International Reconciliatory Agencies, Human Rights, International Religious Freedom Reports, Inter-faith Mediation Centre and above all the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Presenting statistics of their displaced members, and as well the villages that were sacked by the sect, they stressed, “we really have reasons to complain bitterly as if we are aliens in Borno State and every sane minded human being can attest to our plight. We registered this Association to actually forestall the administrative bottle necks of CAN in tackling our internal issues which may be peculiar to us. But we keep in close contact with CAN because our Association is not an alternative to CAN. We are in the full picture and knowledge of our Christian brothers and sisters that are scattered as refugees which are currently as follows:
* Mokolo - Cameroun - Over 3,000
* Galma - Cameroun - Over 2,000
* Limankara - 202
* Madagali in Adamawa State - 2050
* Gulak in Adamawa State - 800
* Michika in Adamawa State - 1865
* Askira in Borno State - 410
* Uba in Borno State - 743
* Mubi in Adamawa State - 273
* Ngoshe Sama - 223
* Yola in Adamawa State - 270
* Jalingo in Taraba State - 190
* Lagos in Lagos State - 428
* Abuja in the FCT - 1021
The group gave the names of villages in which Christian refugees were chased out as follows: Ghraza, Hduwe, Tacha, Gudule, Gathaghure, Hembe, Kunde, Jiga, Ghwa 'a-klala, Gwavaka, Sabon Gari Kunde, Chebe-Chebe, Pege Barawa, Angwan Lawan, Vireke, Koghum, Kamba, Kwatara, Wala, Ashigashiya, Gava-west, Gileri, Sasawa, Bita, Dangalang, Ungwan Dambe, Yamtake, Valengede, Bla waziri, Bla abba, Gatha Musa, Gatha chairman, Gobara, Barawa, Uvaha, Gidan Block, Sabon gari zalidva, Patawe, Amdaga, Shiya-dawe, Dure, Hudimca, and Ghufure.
“For goodness-sake how can a leader allow such large number of villages to be left vacant?”
SaharaReporters has not been able to reach the office of the Governor for comment.
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