by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - The Nigerian government has done an about-face in regard to its assessment of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacks that have slain thousands of Christians in the last few years.
Whereas before the administration of Muhammadu Buhari was only willing to acknowledge a conflict on the level of land and resources between predominantly Muslim herders and Christian farmers, now the government has changed its tack to reflect what Christians have been saying for months.
“Recall that Boko Haram insurgents didn’t use to discriminate between Christians and Muslims when they carried out their attacks in the past. Churches and mosques, Christians and Muslims were attacked without discrimination,” Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture Alhaj Lai Mohammed said.
"But in the wake of a renewed onslaught by our tireless military against Boko Haram and their ISWAP allies in recent times, the insurgents have apparently changed their strategy," he continued. "They have started targeting Christians and Christian villages for a specific reason, which is to trigger a religious war and throw the nation into chaos.”
Nigeria, 12th on Open Doors USA's World Watch List, has seen the deaths of 6,000 Christians at the hands of Islamic terrorists and Muslim Fulani herders since 2015, according to the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART).