Washington, D.C. (April 27, 2010)-International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on April 24 Nigerian Muslims murdered two journalists working for a church publication in Jos, Nigeria.
Nathan Sheleph Dabak and Sunday Gyang Bwede were working for "The Light Bearer" Newspaper, a publication of the Church of Christ in Nigeria. According the church's press statement, the journalists were on duty when the Muslims murdered them.
The Muslims also took their cell phones and other belongings. When a friend of Dabak called his number, one of the Muslims responded, saying, "We have killed all of them; you can do your worst."
ICC's representative in Nigeria spoke with sources in Jos today and confirmed that the journalists were stopped by a Muslim mob which brutally slew them after finding out that they were Christians working for a Christian newspaper.
The church found their bodies on April 25 in the mortuary of the Jos University Teaching Hospital. The slaying of the journalists comes on the heels of the murder of two members of the church on April 13 in Bauchi state. Reverend Ishaya Kada and his wife were forcefully taken from their homes by Muslims. When their bodies were found, they had been burned beyond recognition.
The Church of Christ in Nigeria has declared April 26 and April 27 to be a mourning period for the four martyrs.
"We call all our members to remain calm; although there are security lapses. They should not panic but trust God with their lives...We must cry out to God and allow Him to take vengeance. The leadership will take the matter to appropriate quarters," said Reverend Dr. Pandang Yamsta. Reverend Yamsta is the president of the Church of Christ in Nigeria. I
CC's Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, "We are deeply saddened by the continuous murder of Christians in Nigeria. The Nigerian government has failed to protect its citizens from killings. We urge the international community to put pressure on Nigeria to end the killings." Please sign the petition to ask Nigerian officials to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice and put an end to the loss of its citizens. (To read and sign the petition: http://tracking.etapestry.com/t/12262752/479434758/52302442/0/) # # www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441
