Nigerian Christians fear ‘holy war’

NORTHERN Nigerian Christians said yesterday they feared that a spate of Christmas Day bombings by Islamist militants that killed over two dozen people could lead to a religious war in Africa’s most populous country.

The warning was made by the northern branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), an umbrella organisation comprising various denominations including Catholic and Protestant churches.

But a powerful Muslim traditional ruler, the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, said after meeting the Nigerian president yesterday it was not a conflict between Muslims and Christians or between Islam and Christianity.