Nigeria sect kills fifteen as Christians vow defense

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - The Associated Press

A radical Muslim sect attacked a church worship service in Nigeria’s northeast during assaults that killed at least 15 people, authorities said Jan. 7, as Christians vowed to defend themselves from the group’s widening sectarian fight against the country’s government.

The attacks by the sect known as Boko Haram came after it promised to kill Christians living in Nigeria’s largely Muslim north, exploiting long-standing religious and ethnic tensions. The pledge by the leader of an umbrella organization called the Christian Association of Nigeria now raises the possibility of retaliatory violence.

In the last few days alone, Boko Haram has killed at least 44 people, despite the oil-rich nation’s president declaring a state of emergency in regions hit by the sect. Speaking to journalists, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, vowed the group’s members would adequately protect themselves from the sect. “We have decided to work out means to defend ourselves against these senseless killings,” Oritsejafor said.