Abuja, Nigeria, Jan 5, 2012 / 01:25 am
A leading Catholic bishop in Nigeria denounced the terrorist attacks over Christmas and criticized media reports that depict the ongoing violence as a civil war between Muslims and Christians.
Archbishop John Olurunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja denounced Boko Haram, an radical Islamist group, as “terrorists who cause problems for anyone in Nigeria who stands in their way.”
“They claim to act in the name of Islam, but the killing of innocents is contradictory to Islam,” he told Aid to the Church in Need on Dec. 30.
His comments followed five separate bomb attacks across Nigeria on Christmas Day, one of which targeted a crowd leaving Mass at a Catholic church. The attacks killed at least 40 people and were accompanied by clashes between the Nigerian military and Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the attacks.