GARKIDA, Nigeria — Boko Haram terrorists attacked Christian communities in Northern Nigeria on Christmas Eve, killing at least five people, burning houses and setting trucks ablaze, according to eye witnesses.

In one town, Machika, Adamawa, the Islamist group beheaded a reverend when he refused their demand to convert to Islam. Rev. Lawan Andimi was the leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

An eye witness told Religion Unplugged that when Boko Haram entered the Christian community of Garkida on Christmas Eve, they chanted Al-Akbar (God is the greatest) from one end of the town to another and asked Christians to convert or face their wrath.

On Dec. 26, the Boko Haram faction of Islamic States in West African Province (ISWAP), issued a video claiming responsibility for the attacks on Garkida. 

Read: Nigeria Is A Killing Field Of Defenseless Christians

It’s the second time that the Islamist group has attacked Garkida, Adamawa. In February 2020, the sect, which considers Western education and the Christian faith as sin, sieged Garkida for more than five hours, destroying churches and Christian homes.

The churches set ablaze included the Church of the Brethren (EYN), the Anglican Church and the Living Faith Church, among several other denominations.

The local resident said though there is a sizeable population of Muslims in Garkida, the terrorists did not attack houses and properties owned by Muslims. Rather, they went after Christians, especially those who arrived to the rural communities from cities to celebrate this year’s Christmas.

“The terrorists moved from one Christian premise to another, setting them ablaze and burning vehicles in front of them,” the eye witness said. “They came in five Hilux vehicles, motorcycles and trucks while some trekked, shooting randomly and burning shops, cars and houses. They skipped houses that belong to Muslims; they didn’t molest Muslims they found in the town. The attack began at about 7:00 pm, and continued for several hours until the military arrived and chased them away.”

Another eye witness who gave her name as Rebecca told The Vanguard newspaper in Nigeria: “We could see them from afar in our hideouts as they continued to loot, ravage houses, pharmaceutical stores…”

Senator Muhammadu Ali Ndume, a Muslim, who hails from a predominantly Christian senatorial district in Borno State, condemned the attack on Garkida, and called on the authorities to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

He said in a statement:

“It is highly unfortunate that the insurgents struck again on Christmas eve and killed five people in Pemi. Churches, hospitals and schools were said to have been destroyed during the attack. I am using this opportunity to console the families of the victims while the army personnel in the area should be preempting the insurgents instead of reacting after the deeds have been done.”

The governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, did not specifically mention the fact that Christians were targeted, but he described the attack as outrageous and an affront on the people of Adamawa and all humanity.

In his statement, the governor said:

“This latest cowardly attack on Garkida town is yet another desperate action by the Boko Haram terrorists who have been under intense pressure from the Nigerian military. Let me reassure Adamawa residents that this latest cowardly attack on Garkida would not go without severe consequences. I stand with Garkida community in this difficult time, and will continue to support the military’s efforts to ensure peace, security and justice for the people.”

Boko Haram has attacked several communities in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority northwest and northeast since the middle of December 2020. In Katsina State on Dec. 11, the group abducted over 300 students of a science and technical college in Kankara, an act the sect claimed was in the interest of Islam. Boko Haram has declared in multiple statements that they are against Christianity, Western education, Americans and Jews, and have consistently targeted these groups. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and attack as well as a Dec. 12 attack in Niger that left 27 people dead.

A three-minute video Boko Haram sent to French news agency AFP promised more attacks on Christians before Christmas. The attacks prompted the U.S. State Department to designate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” or CPC for the first time ever.

Read: U.S. Human Rights Commission Calls Nigerian Violence ‘Genocide'

The latest attack came days after President Muhammadu Buhari praised the military for bringing terrorist activities under control in Borno and Adamawa states.

Theophilus Abbah has reported in Nigeria for over two decades. He is the author of Lost in the Wind, a novel about incessant sectarian violence in Nigeria, and publisher of The Insight, an online blog: www.theinsight.org.ng.