LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) – The Nigerian bishops’ conference described the Christmas church bombings as the equivalent of war and declared Dec. 31 a day of fasting and prayer to ask God’s forgiveness for the acts.
“Pray for Nigeria in distress and pray for peace in our nation and pray for good governance,” said the Dec. 30 statement signed by Archbishop Felix Alaba Job of Ibadan, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.
The Islamic extremist group Boko Haram took credit for the Christmas bombings outside that left more than 40 people dead.
“This group has apparently declared war on Nigeria and, at times of war, nations are calling on their reserves. It is apparent that, if we depend only on our available active security agents, we shall not make much progress,” the bishops’ statement said.
It asked Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan “to recall the retired experts in criminology and employ foreign experts in this field to assist the active security agents to put an immediate end to the Boko Haram menace.”
One of the churches targeted on Christmas was St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, just outside of Abuja.
On Dec. 28, six children and an adult were injured in the bombing of an Islamic school in Sapele.