Abuja – The Gwoza Christians Community Association (GCCA) has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene in the alleged persecution, exclusion, and neglect of Christians from Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State. “We are not asking for a favour. We are begging for the dignity of truth, justice and a safe home for our people,” said Rev. Dr. Ayuba John Bassa, GCCA National Coordinator.
The group claims Christians face sustained injustice, erasure, and discrimination post-insurgency. Out of 176 large churches, 148 were burnt; only 12 rebuilt by Vice President Kashim Shettima remain. In Gwoza-West, 74 towns were sacked (Sept 2013), displacing 36,946 families, destroying 99 churches, killing 292. GCCA alleges reconstruction favors Muslims: “Of thousands of resettlement houses, only three Christian beneficiaries identified”.
The association demands rebuilding homes on ancestral lands, not cash compensation; transparent audit of projects; investigation into five abducted members (July 2013); restoring destroyed churches. “Do not give refugees in Cameroon #500,000 per family… Build homes on ancestral land in Gwoza and give them keys,” GCCA urged.
They also seek reinstatement of Christian Religious Knowledge in schools, fair representation, humanitarian aid, and military deployment to Gwoza-East. “GCCA seeks truth, justice and a dignified path home,” the statement concluded.
