Muslim rioters in Nigeria have killed more than 100 Christians and burned down more than 40 churches

This revelation is contained in a report by the Regional Manager for Africa, International Christian Concern (ICC), Jonathan Racho noting that this latest demonstration is in response to the election of Jonathan Goodluck, a Christian, as president of Nigeria.

He pointed out that the rioters even destroyed the homes of many Muslims who supported President Jonathan Goodluck adding that the Muslim attackers allege that the election was rigged and General Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim presidential candidate, is the rightful winner.

He said that the Commonwealth observers’ report judged that election as “this election the fairest in decades. The elections for the National Assembly and the Presidency were both credible and creditable and reflected the will of the Nigerian people."

According Racho, it is difficult to know the full extent of the damage. The casualties could be much higher as the attacks took place over many of the 12 Muslim majority states in northern Nigeria.

He noted that the situation is beginning to calm since security forces were deployed and enforced a 24 hour curfew. Christian minorities living in northern Nigeria have faced repeated bouts of violence and discrimination at the hands of the Muslim majority.

He said that since the introduction of Sharia law in northern Nigeria in 2001, tens and thousands of Christians have been killed.

A Christian leader in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna stated: “Christians in northern Nigeria are being killed and their churches and property destroyed for voting for the candidate of their choice. Why should churches be burned when just it’s an issue of politics?

He also queried: “Why should Christians be killed just because someone won an election? Goodluck is not the president just for Christians; he is the president for every Nigerian. Why should Christians suffer because Jonathan won the election?

Racho stated: “We are very saddened by the violence against Christians and their property in northern Nigeria. Disputes over elections shouldn’t have been allowed to lead to religious violence against Christians.”

He continued: “We have repeatedly seen Muslims attack and kill those of other faiths at the slightest provocation. We urge Nigeria to fully investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice. As long as these attackers operate with impunity, the attacks will continue.”

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Nigeria: 'Secret' killings follow religious deaths

JOS, Nigeria (AP)

The religious massacres have stopped, but "secret" killings of Christians and Muslims continue on a smaller scale across central Nigeria, claiming more than 30 lives this year, police said Tuesday.

The warning came after three people died and several others were injured Monday during an interfaith Easter prayer ceremony in Jos, a one-time Nigerian tourist town that finds itself at the epicenter of the religious tension plaguing Africa's most populous nation.

Plateau State Police Commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba told reporters Tuesday he would hold community leaders, parents and anyone else ordering attacks responsible before the law. However, even he seems lost when trying to explain the violence.

"Plateau used to be the home of peace and tourism, mini-Nigeria, a global home to all, but now the state has polarized into two," Aduba said. "We continue to pick up corpses on a daily basis due to the secret killings. ... Killing an innocent soul is satanic."

Aduba said the secret killings happen when Christians and Muslims stray into neighborhoods dominated by the other faith. Police and security forces can collect one or two bodies a night this way, he said.

Still, the violence remains hidden from public view since it hasn't reached the horrors of earlier in the year. More than 200 people — mostly Christians — died in March massacres in villages south of Jos. More than 300 people — mostly Muslims — died in January during rioting in the same region.

Nigeria, a country of 150 million people, is almost evenly split between Muslims in the north and the predominantly Christian south. The recent bloodshed has been happening in central Nigeria, in the nation's "middle belt," where dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of fertile lands.

The violence, though fractured across religious lines, often has more to do with local politics, economics and rights to grazing lands. The government of Plateau State, where Jos is the capital, is controlled by Christian politicians who have blocked Muslims from being legally recognized as citizens. That has locked many out of prized government jobs in a region where the tourism industry and tin mining have collapsed in the last decades.

There have been efforts among both Christian and Muslims leaders to calm nerves.

However, an effort to bring both sides into prayers Monday failed as "hoodlums" took over the ceremony and then rioted in the street, security forces said.

Brig. Gen. Donald Oji, spokesman for the military force now securing Jos, dismissed claims that soldiers had caused the deaths. However, soldiers fired into a civilian crowd during the March unrest, killing at least two, witnesses said.