"For your information, the state Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Sani, has ordered that your church should be demolished before his arrival in this town tomorrow. So, we shall carry out this directive tomorrow morning."
On October 10, 2003, the Rev. Seth Saleh, then pastor of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Bakura town in Zamfara state, received a Bakura town councilor as an unexpected guest in his house with the above message. The following day, the local government demolished St. Peter's Anglican Church.
The demolition of that church in Bakura marked the beginning of an assault by Islamic fundamentalists in Zamfara under the leadership of Gov. Sani through imposition of sharia (Islamic law). In Gusau town alone, 14 churches have been marked out for demolition.
Those 14 churches have already received demolition notices, according to Rev. James Obi, pastor of Channel of Blessings Church and secretary of the Zamfara state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria. They include Eternal Life Bible Church, Christian Faith Bible Church, Chapel of Grace, Christian Evangelical Fellowship of Nigeria, National Evangelical Mission, Assemblies of God Church, Channel of Blessings and Living Faith Church.
Other Zamfara state churches earmarked for demolition are the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Christ Embassy, Church of Christ in Nigeria, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, Colgate Church and Deeper Life Bible Church.
The government demolished Rev. Obi's Channel of Blessings church in 1997, and it has marked his rebuilt church for destruction as well.
"We have been served with demolition notices and even then, there have been announcements over the radio and television on the churches to be demolished," Rev. Obi lamented. "It is just a matter of time, and these churches will be no more."
