The Minister of information, Lai Mohammed, has said that members of
the Boko Haram sect have started attacking Christians and their worship
centers in a bid to stir a religious war between the two major religious
groups in Nigeria.
Lai Mohammed said this while addressing a news conference on the state of insecurity in the country on Thursday February 27th.
He appealed to Nigerians not to allow the insurgents to cause discord
amongst them, urging all Nigerians to join and support the military in
the fight against insurgency.
“They have started targeting Christians and Christian villages for a
specific reason, which is to trigger a religious war and throw the
nation into chaos. Apparently, they have realized how emotive and
divisive religion can be, when exploited by unscrupulous persons.Lest I am misunderstood, let me repeat: the insurgents, who delude
themselves as Muslims whereas they are nothing more than blood-thirsty,
rapacious killers who subscribe to no religion, have recently started
targeting Christians with a view to sowing the seed of confusion between
the two great religions.This did not in any way signify that they have stopped attacking
Muslims. But they seem to now have a deliberate policy of attacking
Christians. Some have misinterpreted this to insinuate a systematic
campaign to persecute Christians in Nigeria.This is absurd, and very unfair to the men and women who are daily battling the insurgents” he said