Imagine This Happening to You in Church

That's what happened in Suleja, Nigeria, last Sunday. According to Compass Direct News, suspected Islamic extremists detonated a bomboutside a church building there, a mere two months after Boko HaramIslamists killed forty-four Christians and blinded seven in a church bombing in nearbyMadalla. 

Sunday’s blast in Suleja, in front of Christ Embassy church duringmorning worship, injured five people, one seriously, sources said. The bomb,planted in a parked car, was left by suspected members of Boko Haram, whichseeks to impose sharia (Islamic law) throughout Nigeria, and authoritiesarrested some members of the sect the same day. 

Triumphant MinistriesInternational Church is also near the site of the explosion. Peter Osema, asearch-and-rescue worker with Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency,told Compass that the bomb was likely meant to affect both churches, and indeedCompass learned that at least one of those injured belongs to the TriumphMinistries church. 

At St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, where thecasualty figure has varied the past few months as victims were sought andidentified at various hospitals, the Rev. Isaac Achi said Monday (Feb. 20) that44 church members were killed in the Christmas Day blast. “Of the 127 victims,we lost 44, and of the injured seven lost their sight,” he said.   

In this morning's New York Times, Nicholas Kristof has a gripping story about sneaking into Nigeria, and what he found. 

Photo: Courtesy Compass Direct News