Steady progress, so far, is being made in ensuring the prosecution of the Hundreds of suspects arrested over the recent slaughter of Christians on the Jos Plateau in Nigeria. According to reports from the Agence France Presse, the Plateau State police spokesman Mohammed Lerama said they hope to go to court in the week of 21st March and begin the prosecution of about 200 suspects.
The suspects were detained after a number of predominantly Christian villages in the Jos area were attacked by machete-wielding Muslim extremists on March 7. About 500 villagers, mainly women and children were brutally butchered in that attack. A second attack a week later left an additional 13 people dead.
Lerama told AFP that 49 Fulani herdsmen will be charged with homicide and terrorism in connection with the March 7 violence. Another seven will face similar charges over the second wave of killings.
Persecution watchdogs have called for security for Christians in the West African country. Open Doors, which is based in the U.S., says the atmosphere in the Christian villages remains tense. Open Doors' Africa director reminded the public that this is a spiritual battle and that some Christians "react to the honor of God and others don't."
"I think it is also important to understand that the Nigerian Christians are not super human beings. We need to understand that those Christians in northern Nigeria face discrimination, humiliation and attacks on almost a daily basis," the director said. "They have built and rebuilt homes and churches so many times. They have gone to morgues to look for the bodies of their loved ones so often. (From The Christian Post, March 23, 2010)
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