Christian leaders decry attacks on Plateau churches, urge govt action

The National Fellowship of Conference Presidents of the Nigerian Baptist Convention has expressed concern over persistent attacks on churches and Christian communities in Plateau State and other parts of Northern Nigeria, calling on governments at all levels to take concrete steps to end the killings, displacement, and destruction of communities. The concerns were raised during the three-day annual retreat of the fellowship, which ended in Jos on Thursday, Arewa PUNCH reports. The retreat, hosted by the Plateau Baptist Conference at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, in Jos South Local Government Area, brought together conference presidents and their wives from across Nigeria and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. Speaking at the event, the President of the Plateau Baptist Conference and Vice-Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Plateau State, Rev. Koeleh Saleh, lamented that churches in the state had endured more than two decades of violent attacks, resulting in deaths, displacement, and destruction of church properties. According to him, the violence has significantly affected the church’s evangelism and rural mission activities. “Like some other church denominations on the Plateau, the churches of the Plateau Baptist Conference have walked through the valley of affliction due to repeated religious violence and systemic attacks on Christian communities that have bedevilled the state for over two decades,” Saleh said. He noted that the recent shift of attacks from urban centres to rural communities had particularly undermined the denomination’s church-planting efforts. “As a denomination renowned for rural church planting, the most recent pattern of violence against Christians, which has shifted from cities to rural communities, has negatively affected the mission efforts of Baptist work on the Plateau,” he added. Saleh disclosed that nine Baptist churches in Mangu Central Baptist Association alone had been affected by attacks. He cited Alheri Baptist Church, Washna, where both the church building and pastorium were destroyed, forcing members of the community from their ancestral homes. “The church has remained closed since 2022 because the entire Christian community was dispossessed of its land and displaced,” he said. Other affected congregations, he said, included Alheri Baptist Church, Kwagaskippanlang; Farawa Baptist Church, Changal; and Shiloh Baptist Church, Kombili, all of which suffered varying degrees of destruction and displacement. Despite the challenges, Saleh commended the resilience of affected membe