Gunmen Attack 4 Churches In Borno; Kill Pastor, 2 Others

One month after the declaration of emergency rule in order to fight insurgency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, violence has erupted again, as gunmen suspected to be members of the Islamist terrorist’s sect attacked four communities of Hwa’a, Kunde, Gathahure and Gjigga of Gwoza Hills settlements, torching four churches with Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDS) and petro-bombs Thursday afternoon. According to Tada Garuta, a resident of Kunde, the gunmen climbed the hills on foot with explosives and petro-bombs, and chanted ‘God is great’ in Arabic, before setting four local churches ablaze; and ransacked and emptied their bans of grains along with some livestock to the next community of Gathahure and Hwa’a at dawn. The attacked communities are located in Gwoza council area of Borno state of Mandara Hills, and 151 kilometres South of Maiduguri, the state capital. Two churches at Hrazah and Hembe of hill dwellers communities; were also torched by the gunmen in April this year with the killing of two residents. Garuta also told newsmen in the Maiduguri, Bama road Motor Park on Sunday that after torching another church in Hwa’a community, the gunmen also killed Reverend Jacob Kwiza (rtd) of Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), while picking mangoes at his father’s orchard on the hills settlement of Hwa’a.