Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Jos (Agenzia Fides) - "Those who commit these attacks do not think in a rational way, and it is therefore difficult to find a logic. To expect to transform Nigeria into an Islamic State with violence is a completely insane claim. I wonder how one can argue with people who reason this way", says to Fides His Exc. Mgr. John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, Federal Capital of Nigeria, where yesterday, Sunday, March 11, in a suicide attack against the church in Saint Finber, in a suburb of Jos (in the center of the Country), at least a dozen people were killed. "Fortunately, the suicide bomber was unable to get closer to the church with the car bomb, otherwise it would have been an even bigger tragedy," said Mgr. Onaiyekan.
"I do not know who committed the attack, because I do not think it was previously claimed," the Archbishop continues. The Boko Haram is widely suspected, who according to some of its members, are planning to Islamize the entire Country.
Mgr. Onaiyekan, however, adds a note of hope: "The government is moving: there have been numerous investigations and arrests of people involved in the activities of Boko Haram. A picture of the situation is gradually emerging. Nigeria, also seems to have become the target of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), which, according to the Nigerian Tribune, moved its business to kidnap Western hostages in northern Nigeria, due to decreased travel to foreign Countries in Maghreb.
"I have the impression that the kidnappers of the two hostages, English and Italian, in Sokoto (killed in an attempt to release them, see Fides 09/03/2012) are related to what is happening in Sahel, because members of Boko Haram have claimed not to be involved in the kidnapping", said Mgr. Onaiyekan. "Please note that northern Nigeria, Chad and Mali are united by the same desert. There is a history of thousands of years of contact between the north of Nigeria and these Countries. The desert is crossed by caravans of camels, now expanded to including trucks, which connect northern Nigeria to Morocco, Algeria and Libya. In fact there are no borders. I would not be surprise if AQMI is heard even in Nigeria. With the unrest in Maghreb and the uncertain situation in Libya, where the arsenals of the former regime were looted, we knew that sooner or later we would have paid the consequences of all this, but we did not expect such a tragic situation", underlines Mgr. Onaiyekan.
The Archbishop of Abuja concludes: "In this situation we continue our lives as much as possible, we do our duty, trusting in God's protection". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 12/03/2012)
