The President of the Baptist Conference in Plateau State, Rev. Keoleh Saleh, yesterday said 50 members of the church, including a pastor, were killed in recent attacks in Mangu and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
Saleh, who disclosed this to newsmen in Jos, said over 500 of members of the church were also displaced. “This unfortunate carnage affected the Baptist Church seriously; In Kantoma where we have a big church, we lost over 31 members, including a Moderator. Twenty-three women were made widows on account of the attack. We lost nine members in Jwak Maitumbi, and a member in Kombili,” he said.
He added: “We have located four centres in Jos metropolis where a family is hosting between 10 to 20 people, and we have over 200 displaced persons in Jos. We have 50 in Barkin Ladi, over 200 in Salama Baptist Church in Mangu and 78 others that include 44 little children at Bwarak, Pankshin.”
Saleh explained that in the last one week, the church has spent over N3 million to cater for the needs of its displaced members taking refuge in its various local churches.
“Within one week, we have spent about N2m to get relief materials, but this is not enough, and our Baptist partners assisted us with N1m to make it N3m. But it is still not enough. We provided foodstuffs, clothing, shoes, mats, blankets, and other items,” he said.
The National President of the Nigeria Baptist Convention, Rev. Israel Akanji, who visited the displaced members, offered prayers and financial assistance to the victims of the attacks.
He called on government and security agencies to intensify efforts toward bringing succour to the victims and finding a lasting solution to the spate of killings in the state and nation at large.
“This is a farming season, and the government should think of returning these people to go to their farms. Whatever we are doing now will not be forever, the government should wake up to its responsibility and ensure a safe place for these people to return to their farms,” he said.
