Mass exodus of Christians and Muslims after attacks on Christian believers.

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns about Nigeria being threatened by a separation due to the religious riots. "In Nigeria, tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims are on the run after the terrorist attacks on Christmas Day," the STP 's Africa-consultant, Ulrich Delius, reported in Göttingen on Friday. The recent terrorist bombing, during which six Christian believers were killed during a church mass in the state of Gombe on Thursday evening, has increased fears about even more violence – not only among Christians but also among Muslims. After about 90,000 Christians fled from the Muslim-majority states in northern Nigeria to the Christian-dominated south of the country, there is now also a mass exodus of Muslims from the south to the north taking place. 

"More protection for religious institutions alone will not be enough to stop the mass hysteria," said Delius. The coexistence between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria has reached a new low-point. "The mutual distrust is spreading, even though church leaders, Muslim clerics and the governors of individual states are pointing out similarities and emphasizing that there are no major religious conflicts between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.

Christians in northern Nigeria must now fear more terrorist attacks by the Boko Haram, whose ultimatum expired yesterday. The terrorist movement had urged all Christians to leave the north of the country within three days. The authorities then imposed a state of emergency over several regions and increased the protection of church institutions. For fear that the country may fall apart, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, and the Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, called on the Christians to ignore the ultimatum and to remain in the north.

But also the Muslims live in fear now. In southern Nigeria, where they are a minority, they now fear acts of reprisal by Christians. After the attacks around Christmas, the president of the youth organization of CAN, Patriot Dolly, had declared that the Christian youth are ready for war and will answer to violence with counter-violence. It is still not investigated, why a fire broke out in an Islamic school in Sapele (Delta State) and why two Muslims in Yenagoa (Bayelsa State) were killed. "Given the tense situation, any new incident can lead to a new escalation," warned Delius. "To stop a new spiral of violence, new incidents must be immediately investigated by the authorities to prevent the spreading of rumors."