Catholic bishops in Nigeria urge government to pay for repair of churches destroyed by Boko Haram

Catholic bishops in Nigeria have urged the federal government to pay for the repair of churches that have been destroyed by the Islamic radical group Boko Haram.

In a briefing held in the Nigerian city of Minna on Aug. 22, the Catholic Bishops of Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province called on the federal government to provide support to churches and people affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

"In the past six years, insurgents have attacked churches and other Christian places in the north, but the federal government is yet to compensate the victims," said Bishop Matthew Ndagoso the spokesman for the province, according to Buzz Nigeria.

"We want to inform you that the Catholic Church has not received any support from the federal government for the Churches affected," he continued.

The Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province is said to comprise of the Catholic dioceses of Kaduna, Sokoto, Kontangora, Zaria, Minna, Kano and Kafanchan.

Ndagoso has contended that the federal government should be responsible for providing assistance to the churches and the victims. He went on to plead with state governments to issue Certificate of Occupancy for lands meant for the building of churches to enable the church to assist in the development needs of Nigeria.

Nigerian clergy has stated that at least 1,000 churches have been destroyed since Boko Haram launched its insurgency six years ago.

According to human rights groups, thousands more churches have been abandoned or closed, and schools, mosques, markets and military installations have also been targeted in the conflict.

While the attacks have been attributed to Boko Haram, religious leaders have also assigned blame to the government.

"The church ... is demanding compensation from the government for lives lost and properties destroyed by the (Boko Haram) criminals," said the Rev. John Bakeni, secretary of the Maiduguri Roman Catholic diocese. "We believe the government should have provided security for lives and property," he added.

In 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to reconstruct the churches and mosques that have been destroyed in the conflict.

Some reconstruction work started in 2016 in the northern state of Borno, but Bakeni expressed disappointment at what he described as the small number of churches undergoing reconstruction, compared with the number of mosques that have been restored.

Boko Haram, which aims to create an Islamic state in the north, first launched its attack on Christian minorities in 2010. In 2014, the group kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok, sparking the solidarity campaign known as #BringBackOurGirls.

The United Nations has estimated that 20,000 have been killed and about two million people have been displaced in the northern states of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno since the insurgency began.