SirBayubay gathered that churches in Borno and Yobe States, fearing Boko Haram violence, today cancelled Christmas Eve night services.
The situation is said to be the same in some military and police barracks, where activities are highly restricted.
Rev. Yakubu Ibrahim, a Christian leader in the troubled North-East of Nigeria, the hotbed of the Boko Haram insurgency, confirmed the service cancellation to our reporter by telephone from Maiduguri.
“We have decided not to hold our service because of security challenges and cancelled night Church service because our security cannot be guaranteed.
Few Christmases back we had similar experiences where our members were killed, some even during service in the morning. With the present situation, it is not possible.
“Our members are scared and so we cannot take chances. Presently we are in a very terrible situation; many of our people have been abducted and killed. And so we are just surviving by the grace of God pending when we will overcome this persecution.”
Another clergy in Yobe State, Pastor Audu Tanko, described the same situation.
“We are in our homes and will only hold service in the morning but [have] cancelled Christmas night service of songs,” he said. “It is not our wish but we have no choice.”
Military sources in both Maiduguri and Damaturu said the security situation has not normalized as is being claimed. They told us that troops of both the Air Force and the Army are still been deployed in view of Boko Haram’s sophistication and well-coordinated attacks, citing the example of the assault of December 2, 2013.
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