CHRISTIAN GROUP PETITIONS TINUBU OVER ALLEGED MARGINALISATION IN BORNO’S GWOZA
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Nicolas Adekeye / 1 month
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A Christian faith-based organisation, the Gwoza Christians Community Association (GCCA), has urgently appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in what it calls prolonged persecution, exclusion and neglect of Christians from Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State. In a detailed press statement issued by its National Coordinator, Rev. Dr. (Arc) Ayuba John Bassa, the group accused authorities of failing to address the plight of Christian survivors of the insurgency, alleging a sustained pattern of injustice and discrimination. “We are not asking for a favour. We are begging for the dignity of truth, justice and a safe home for our people. Too many churches, homes and lives were destroyed. Too many of our sons remain unaccounted for. Silence and denial have compounded our grief. Mr President, your urgent, visible action can stop the slow death of our communities,” the GCCA stated. The association detailed extensive destruction, noting that 148 out of 176 large churches in Gwoza LGA were burnt and remain in ruins, with only 12 rebuilt, attributing those to Vice President Kashim Shettima’s past efforts as Governor. The human cost cited includes, in Gwoza-West alone, 74 towns sacked, 36,946 families displaced, 99 churches destroyed, and 292 people killed in September 2013. Further figures were given for attacks in Attagara and Gwoza town, with a total of 12 pastors reportedly killed in the LGA. The GCCA claims about 107,000 Gwoza Christians are currently in 27 IDP camps across seven states and the Minawao Refugee Camp in Cameroon, with an additional 50,000 living with relatives. It alleged discrimination in reconstruction, stating that among thousands of resettlement houses built, only three Christian beneficiaries could be identified. It also raised concern over the demolition of a church within Gwoza General Hospital, which was converted to a solar farm while a mosque on the same premises was rehabilitated. The group highlighted unresolved cases, including the 2013 abduction of five members, involving a former local government vice chairman, who remain missing, alleging witness accounts of military vehicle involvement. It also cited the recent arrest and denied bail of a couple, Mrs. Lami and Amos, in Maiduguri for sharing their faith. Further allegations include systemic exclusion, such as the absence of Christian Religious Knowledge in public schools, lack of fair representation in public offices, and public minimisation of Christian suffering. The GCCA called for decisive presidential action, specifically urging against cash compensation. “Do not give our refugees in Cameroon #500,000 per family as compensation, enticement, or bet in the name of resettlement. Build their homes on their ancestral land in Gwoza and give them the keys. Our IDPs do not need money; they need homes to live in,” the statement added. Among its demands, the group called for a transparent audit of reconstruction projects, an independent investigation into the abductions, restoration or compensation for destroyed churches, equitable land restitution, reinstatement of CRK in schools, fair representation in governance, immediate humanitarian support, public acknowledgment of grievances, and the deployment of a military battalion in Gwoza-East. “GCCA does not seek confrontation but truth, justice and a dignified path home. We urge Mr President, the father of the nation, to demonstrate federal concern and leadership by meeting these demands,” the statement concluded.