By Sadiq Abubakar
Maiduguri
Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church Social Communications Directorate (CSCD) of Maiduguri Diocese, yesterday said between 2009 and March, this year, the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east has claimed 54 of its churches either by burning or destruction, while over 523 Christians and members of the church were killed.
The Diocesan Secretary, Rev. Fr John Bakeni Bogna disclosed this yesterday at a press conference held at the Church premises in Maiduguri.
Bonga said: “The evils of destroying people’s lives and property in the affected states need the cooperation of everybody, Christians, Muslims and traditionalists to come together, and see how we can wipe it out. We are confident and pray for the government; we pray specially for men and women working round the clock to bring an end to this insurgency and the immediate and unconditional release of the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok.
“This will enable the people to work and commute without fear or any intimidations amongst the various ethnic and religious groups in the North-east sub-region and the country at large.”
He said the Catholic Church was keeping all the records of destruction of lives and property and working with other Christians and groups on the escalated version of what “we have gone through to appropriate> authorities at the national and state levels for intervention and assistance.”
He added that 90, 000 other church and parish members were displaced, 170,000 women turned widows with over 1, 500 children as orphans from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states Catholic churches and parishes of the Maiduguri Diocese.
On destruction of lives and property, Bonga said that besides the destruction of 54 Churches in the Maiduguri Diocese, 33 schools and several other health centres were torched by suspected Boko Harm terrorists, adding that it would require no less than N400 million for the rebuilding of the destroyed schools.