Pentecost Massacre in Nigeria

On June 05, 2022, Christians all over the world celebrated Pentecost.  On the 7th Sunday from Easter, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles of Christ in Jerusalem as the population was celebrating the "Feast of Weeks.  It is a time of great celebration as many mark this day as the official beginning of the Christian movement.  However, for many in Nigeria, it was a day of destruction.  Jihadists in Nigeria chose this Holy Day, knowing that the churches would be crowded with worshippers celebrating Pentecost, so they knew that this was the perfect time to attack.  

The attack occurred on the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, located in Southern Nigeria in the Ondo State region of the country (Link to Video).  Gunmen entered the church  disguised as congregants and opened fire during the mass at 11:30am while other gunmen stationed themselves outside and shot at the Christians as they attempted to flee.  Intelligence experts are of the view that due to the timing and coordination of this attack, it is highly probable that these Jihadists had been planning this for quite some time.  Though many of the Jihadist terrorist attacks have predominantly focused on Northern Nigeria (Ex. the infamous 2014 Chibok Schoolgirls Abduction), this attack proves that the Jihadists are not only focused on driving the Christian population out of northern Nigeria in order to make way for an independent Sharia State.  They want the entire country, and the want that country free of Christians.  

Video of Massacre

Sadly, this is simply become the norm in Nigeria.  According to the Christian Persecution monitoring organization "Open Doors," more Christians have been killed for their faith this year in Nigeria then then the rest of the world combined.  Yet, this ongoing slaughter is continually ignored by world media outlets.  At the same time, Nigerian leaders such as President Muhammadu Buhari continually condemn these attacks, but many state that the leaders are doing far too little to stop them.  In the meantime, Western News Outlets such as the New York Times insist that "There is no clear motive for this attack" and 'No claim of responsibility" (Link to Article).  However considering that such attacks have become all too common in Northern Nigeria, where Boko Haram and other Jihadist terrorist groups hold great sway over the region, it's pretty safe to say what it was that motivated this attack.  That motivation has now been confirmed (Link to Article) as Nigerian Officials have released a statement revealing that the attack was carried out by militants of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP)