Bishop John Danbinta Garba reports a Muslim mob attempted to lynch a man who had converted to Christianity

The Church of Nigeria’s Bishop of Gusau, the Rt. Rev. John Danbinta Garba (pictured) reports a sectarian riot erupted last week at the Abdu Gusau Polytechnic in the city of Talata-Mafara in Northern Nigeria after a Muslim mob attempted to lynch a man who had converted to Christianity. On 21 Aug 2016 a newly baptized Christian was describing his conversion to fellow students when Islamist militants began to assault him. The penalty for apostasy from Islam was death, they said, and attempted to lynch him. Christian students intervened and rescued the convert and a Muslim bystander drove the injured man to the hospital. The mob then turned their sights upon the Muslim good samaritan — they marched to his home and set it ablaze, killing eight people inside. The  mob destroyed the school’s Christian campus ministry office and marched into town demanding vengeance against Christians. In a note published by International Christian Concern, Bishop Garba said: “When I heard this from my pastor and one of my members, I immediately called some security officials because the radicals went on rampage in town.” He added the mob attacked the Evangelical Church of West Africa church, the Living Church and the town’s Anglican Church. “They vandalized the Anglican Church pastorium, destroying electronics and other property. Things would have been worse but for the intervention of security agencies,” the bishop said. Nigeria’s main Muslim group, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have condemned the attacks. JNI Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu said, “The unfortunate attacks that ensued thereafter the alleged blasphemy of the Prophet … are criminal and also stand condemned.” The JNI leader reminded Muslims that individual Muslims did not have the authority to define heresy or label someone as an apostate.  “The nasty behavior of some miscreants should not be misconstrued as the Islamic teaching,” the JNI statement said.. The chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria’s north western branch, Bishop David Bakare condemned the killings. “Northern Nigeria in recent time has become killing field where Christians are murdered without restraints and governments at all levels are doing nothing about it. This is unacceptable as these ugly incidences are getting worse by the day.”