Hell on Christmas Day: Nigeria’s Deadly Bombings

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Nigeria’s Christmas from hell began around 7.30 a.m at St. Theresa’s church in Madalla, a suburb of the capital Abuja, just as worshipers spilled outside from the popular service. “A man with a motorbike dropped a bag just outside the church,” a member of St. Theresa’s told TIME. “One of our officials went to check what was in the bag and at the same time he reached it, that was when there was an explosion. Everybody started running. You can imagine how many people were running around. We thought the explosion was from one car that was parked outside but we now discover it was actually the bag that my colleague, went to check.” The blast partially destroyed the church roof and shattered glass in nearby buildings. It turned out to be only part of a wave of bomb blasts striking packed churches and towns across Nigeria as Islamist militants launched a Christmas day spree that left at least 39 dead and scores more wounded in Africa’s most populous nation.

“With my own two eyes I saw a whole family, five of them, perish in their car which was next to the explosion,” Idriss, 43, a truck driver told TIME over the phone. “I counted 27 bodies. Not only in the church, outside there were two drivers dead on top of their okadas [the local motorcycles used to navigate the area’s choked streets].” Among the dead were three policemen stationed to guard the church, the police area commander told TIME. Security has been beefed up in churches nationwide amid repeated threats from the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

Angry Christian youths, furious over the attack, initially refused to let the dead bodies be cleared away from the smoldering rubble, demanding that President Goodluck Jonathan personally see what had taken place. Officials from the National Emergency Management Agency struggled with a shortage of ambulances. Policemen eventually cordoned off the area and dispersed the mob by reportedly firing live rounds into the air.

It was not the first bombing in the capital region. Boko Haram members allegedly detonated Nigeria’s first ever suicide bombing in August at the United Nations compound, killing 24. The group, which draws inspiration from Afghanistan’s Taliban movement, is fighting for a strict interpretation of Shari’a law across Nigeria’s 160-million strong population, which is roughly split between Muslim and Christian. Boko Haram (which roughly means “Non-Islamic education is forbidden” in Hausa, a language in northern Nigeria) is believed to have been behind four subsequent explosions.

On Christmas day, a person claiming to speak on behalf of Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the Madalla church attack and another attempted explosion that struck the central city of Jos — an ethnic and religious melting pot that has borne the brunt of Nigeria’s sectarian violence. “A police patrol car sighted three men on a motorbike. There was exchange of gunfire and the men threw the bomb into the church compound,” a Jos state official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said the policeman died on the way to hospital but no other casualties were reported. In Jos, traditional celebrations and planned family reunions had already been scrapped in the runup to Christmas amid painful memories of a Christmas eve bomb that killed some 32 people last year, residents said. “The streets are so empty it’s like it’s not even Christmas. Nobody wants to go out even to buy cigarettes because of all this fear,” said Chidi Emweku, 31, a university student.

Meanwhile explosions struck two other towns in Yobe, one of the impoverished north eastern states where Boko Haram traditionally operates. One was in a church in Damaturu, according to residents. The police commissioner said details were not immediately available.

Earlier in the week, Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika, said three soldiers were killed when police raided a suspected Boko Haram bomb-making factory in Damaturu. “There was a major encounter with the Boko Haram in Damaturu,” Ihejirika said. “In the encounter, we lost three of our soldiers, seven were wounded. But we killed over 50 of their members.” Hospital and morgue workers who spoke to TIME said almost all the 50 bodies they saw were civilians. Critics say the army’s frequent incursions into areas where Boko Haram has popular support has fueled the cycle of violence. The group’s fierce anti-government rethoric has also earned it support in the arid predominantly Muslim northeastern states of Yobe and Borno, where unemployment and poverty far exceed that in the oil-rich, south, where Christians abound.

Experts are anxiously monitoring Boko Haram’s ability to strike regularly beyond Yobe and Borno, amid claims from the group that they have traveled to neighboring Chad and as far east as Somalia for training and financing. A December 2011 report from the U.S. Congress said the organization — along with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which operates just north of Nigeria’s Sahel desert — posed a growing threat to American interests.

Activist Shehu Sani, president of Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, said several attempts to broker a ceasefire between the group and the government collapsed amid mutual mistrust. “The only option is dialogue. For as long as the group has foot soldiers willing to use their bodies, using force will not work against them,” he said. The violence prompted condemnations from around the world including a statement from the White House which called the attacks “senseless” and pledged to work with Nigerian officials to bring those responsible to justice.

President Jonathan said there was “no reason” for what he called “an ugly incident.” “This is one of the challenges of this administration. This will not be for ever it will end one day,” he said in a statement. But many Nigerians wonder when it will end. Idriss, standing amid the wreckage in Madalla, said he had fled Jos earlier in the week after news filtered the country of day after day of gun battles in the north of the country. “I just wanted to be somewhere safe, but look what happened,” he said, as sirens wailed in the background.

time.com

Photo: A car burns at the scene of a bomb explosion at St. Theresa Catholic Church at Madalla, Suleja, just outside Nigeria’s capital Abuja, December 25, 2011

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16 responses to “Hell on Christmas Day: Nigeria’s Deadly Bombings”

  1. Religious extreme radical groups are dangerous and religious intolerance is evil!

    1. antar2011 Avatar

      thank you for being objective.

      you have rightly so generelised that in all religions there are those who are psychos rather then blaim islam for their whims.

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar

        Rightly or not Antar, we know which ‘education’ is solely responsible for thousands perishing by random bombings affecting anyone unlucky enough to be nearby.

        1. antar2011 Avatar

          funnily enough this same “education” i have grown up with all my life and studied it professionally sometime suring my life…but geee i would like to think i am not a terrorist extremist fascist muslim who would get a kick oout of seeing non muslims die nor do i go to my next door muslim neighbour telling them ‘you kafirs” leave here or else you die!mwahahahahah…

          you must understand that the problems does not lie with the text….the problems lies with our whims

          Again, we agree to disagree. 

        2. 5thDrawer Avatar

          Well Antar, obviously you didn’t get quite the same education the Taliban, and other variations of stupidity, want everyone to be forced to accept as ‘the only way to live’. In fact, you can read, write, and apply some reasoning to what you say; and perhaps you allow your sister to do that as well. 
          That you have grown up with a religion guiding your soul for all the unanswered questions of human frailty is not in itself a bad thing. I had the same sort of beginings, and see how it helped pattern my life. Even at an advanced age I look into those ancient writings on occasion. But I was allowed to explore the world and read all that I wished, to seek answers about this planet and our place in a universe, beyond the texts found in a brainwashing enclave of control-freaks, and to discover it’s wonders as much as possible, as well as the wonders of a species we named ‘human’.
          Unfortunately, the genes do not carry the accumulated knowledge of one generation to the next. That education, and the desire to keep learning all through life, must be presented to humans from the beginning again, and again. Circumstances (i.e. poverty) may limit it beyond what parents can teach. But when it is controlled to the point where natural human curiosity is beaten down by force, and all the information available to anyone is proscribed by dictatorial methods forced onto generations, I venture to say there can only be unreasoned hatred left.
          Someone out there is teaching that bombing anyone, no matter what religion, gender, or age they are, is a good thing – and worse, that this is justified by some god who wants us all to be the same cattle throughout our finite time in a changing universe.

          Do we still disagree ??
          In my lifetime, the family of ‘Kim’ of North Korea has created a new ‘God-Cult’ which passes it’s godliness from generation to generation. I’m sure you have seen recently the passions of the brainwashed which are not all necessarily forced tears of grief and anguish. And in that impoverished country of peasants there is a well-fed and armed huge military machine waiting for anyone to attack. Perhaps the Taliban minds should venture some missionary work there.

        3. Agree to Agree….

        4. Agree to Agree….

  2.  Avatar

    Religious extreme radical groups are dangerous and religious intolerance is evil!

    1.  Avatar

      thank you for being objective.

      you have rightly so generelised that in all religions there are those who are psychos rather then blaim islam for their whims.

      1.  Avatar

        Rightly or not Antar, we know which ‘education’ is solely responsible for thousands perishing by random bombings affecting anyone unlucky enough to be nearby.

        1.  Avatar

          funnily enough this same “education” i have grown up with all my life and studied it professionally sometime suring my life…but geee i would like to think i am not a terrorist extremist fascist muslim who would get a kick oout of seeing non muslims die nor do i go to my next door muslim neighbour telling them ‘you kafirs” leave here or else you die!mwahahahahah…

          you must understand that the problems does not lie with the text….the problems lies with our whims

          Again, we agree to disagree. 

        2.  Avatar

          Well Antar, obviously you didn’t get quite the same education the Taliban, and other variations of stupidity, want everyone to be forced to accept as ‘the only way to live’. In fact, you can read, write, and apply some reasoning to what you say; and perhaps you allow your sister to do that as well. 
          That you have grown up with a religion guiding your soul for all the unanswered questions of human frailty is not in itself a bad thing. I had the same sort of beginings, and see how it helped pattern my life. Even at an advanced age I look into those ancient writings on occasion. But I was allowed to explore the world and read all that I wished, to seek answers about this planet and our place in a universe, beyond the texts found in a brainwashing enclave of control-freaks, and to discover it’s wonders as much as possible, as well as the wonders of a species we named ‘human’.
          Unfortunately, the genes do not carry the accumulated knowledge of one generation to the next. That education, and the desire to keep learning all through life, must be presented to humans from the beginning again, and again. Circumstances (i.e. poverty) may limit it beyond what parents can teach. But when it is controlled to the point where natural human curiosity is beaten down by force, and all the information available to anyone is proscribed by dictatorial methods forced onto generations, I venture to say there can only be unreasoned hatred left.
          Someone out there is teaching that bombing anyone, no matter what religion, gender, or age they are, is a good thing – and worse, that this is justified by some god who wants us all to be the same cattle throughout our finite time in a changing universe.

          Do we still disagree ??
          In my lifetime, the family of ‘Kim’ of North Korea has created a new ‘God-Cult’ which passes it’s godliness from generation to generation. I’m sure you have seen recently the passions of the brainwashed which are not all necessarily forced tears of grief and anguish. And in that impoverished country of peasants there is a well-fed and armed huge military machine waiting for anyone to attack. Perhaps the Taliban minds should venture some missionary work there.

        3.  Avatar

          Agree to Agree….

  3. josephphdman Avatar
    josephphdman

    attacks on those churhes or a sinigad or even a mosque ,it should be considered an attack against the united states and the free world , when the us constitution  grants the people freedom of religion , this attack on the freedom of religion is considered an attack on united states constitution ;  the us and the un should make itillegal for any country or groups to attack a religious institution weather a churh or a sinigad or a mosque or any other ; because they will be attacking the freedom that the us stands for ;any governement of such countries should be held responsible for those acts ; the us and allies should impose severe sanctions against those countries  when they can,nt protect religious institutions , and the us should demand to extradite the people who are behind those terrorrist ,(who are usually cowards that is why they send someonelse to suiside ) to be tried in the us court ,or an international court ; its time for the us and the free world to chase and capture all those  destroying churches  and killing peacefull religeous people ,across the world ,  wether in nigeria , or egypt , or india , or pakistan or any where else , the us should move fast to stop those  evil doers   overseas ,before they soon be  hitting  us at home . .

  4.  Avatar

    attacks on those churhes or a sinigad or even a mosque ,it should be considered an attack against the us and the free world , when the us constitution  grants the people freedom of religion , this attack is considered the same as an attack on united states constitution ;  the united nations should make it into laws it is forbidden  and illegal for any country or groups to attack a religious institution weather a churh or a sinigad or a mosque or any other ; and they will held the governement of such countries responsible for those acts ; the us and allies should impose severe sanctions against those countries  when they can,nt protect religious institution , and the us should demand to extradite those criminals attackers, and the people behind them , to be tried in the us court ,or an international court ; its time for the us and the free world to chase and capture all those  destroing churches  and killing peacefull religeous people ,across the world ,  wether in nigeria , or egypt , or india , or pakistan or any where else , the us should move fast to stop those  evil doers   overseas ,before they soon be  hitting  us at home . .

  5.  Avatar

    attacks on those churhes or a sinigad or even a mosque ,it should be considered an attack against the us and the free world , when the us constitution  grants the people freedom of religion , this attack is considered the same as an attack on united states constitution ;  the united nations should make it into laws it is forbidden  and illegal for any country or groups to attack a religious institution weather a churh or a sinigad or a mosque or any other ; and they will held the governement of such countries responsible for those acts ; the us and allies should impose severe sanctions against those countries  when they can,nt protect religious institution , and the us should demand to extradite those criminals attackers, and the people behind them , to be tried in the us court ,or an international court ; its time for the us and the free world to chase and capture all those  destroing churches  and killing peacefull religeous people ,across the world ,  wether in nigeria , or egypt , or india , or pakistan or any where else , the us should move fast to stop those  evil doers   overseas ,before they soon be  hitting  us at home . .

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