an angry Muslim mob last month for seizing the Quran from a student.
Chukwi, who worked at the Government Day Secondary School in Bauchi, the capital of the northern Bauchi State, went to work early February 20 with no hint that her attempt to exercise classroom control would threaten her life and lead to the killing of over 20 Christians, reported Christian news agency Compass Direct.
The news agency quoted local Christian leaders as saying that minutes into her lecture, Chuckwu noticed a girl in class reading the Quran. Chuckwu walked over to the student and asked, "What do you think you are doing – and how dare you read some other book while I teach?"
The student apparently laughed off Chuckwu’s rebuke and continued with her reading. Angered by the student’s behavior, Chuckwu seized the Quran from her and walked back to the front of the class. She handed the book to the class prefect, a male student with disciplinary authority. "Please keep this book and give it back to her after the class."
MUSLIM ANGER
A voice reportedly erupted in the class saying "God is Great" – "Allahu-akbar! Allahu-akbar! Allahu-akbar!" At that moment, a seemingly spontaneous response arose to this as shouts of "Allahu-akbar" reverberated across the school, witnesses claimed.
Soon Muslim students in Chuckwu’s class jumped on tables and began to throw their books at her, Compass Direct reported. "Infidel, you’ve defiled the Quran," a Muslim student allegedly shouted, while another said, "Kill her,!" local Christians recalled.
The scene became reportedly riotous as other Muslim students raced to the classroom. The intervention of other teachers in the school apparently failed to bring control. Chuckwu’s dress was torn, and she was bleeding from the mouth, local believers told Compass Direct. Blood allegedly gushed from wounds to her head as a result of objects the Muslim students had thrown at her.
LOCKED UP
Chuckwu’s colleagues pushed her through the classroom window, and teachers outside soon formed a shield around her. The teachers took her to the principal’s office where she
Chuckwu was locked up to prevent her from being killed.
Soldiers from the 33rd Artillery Field Brigade, Bauchi, in whose barracks the school is located, rushed in to fire gun shots into the air to disperse the rioting Muslim students. The students left the school and poured into the streets of the city, chanting "Allahu-akbar!" This attracted other Muslims who joined the protest, and soon the whole city became "a danger zone" for Christians, Compass Direct commented.
By the end of the day, more than 20 Christians were killed, and two churches were burned along with many houses belonging to believers, several news reports said at the time. Christian leaders in Bauchi said Chuckwu’s whereabouts are unknown, and they fear her life may be in danger.
WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN
"We made all efforts to trace were she has been taken but cannot know precisely where she is being held," explained Reverend Dauda Diga Jimra, chairman of the Bauchi state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in published remarks. "We even went to see the state governor over the issue, but no assurance has been given to us that she is safe."
William Obiuwevbi, a military officer who was among the military personnel that dispersed the rioting Muslim students, told Compass that army personnel rescued Chuckwa, but that other security agents in the state took her away.
"The student population in this school is about 7, 000," Obiuwevbi was quoted as saying. "We had to shoot into the air in order to scare the students away," he reportedly said. They claim that the teacher, being a Christian, had defiled the Quran by touching the Islamic book. But then, why should a student in an English language class be reading the Quran while lessons were on," he added.
GROWING TENSIONS
The riot came amid growing concern over tensions in the state where Muslim militants have denied Christians land to build churches, forcefully converted teenage Christians to Islam, and refused to employ Christians in public service while failing to provide social services to Christian communities, church sources say.
As part of the anti-Christian campaign, Christian girls have also been kidnapped, Christians said. Christian comprise roughly 40 percent of Nigeria’s nearly 129-million people, but are increasingly persecuted in Muslim dominated states like Bauchi, human rights watchers say.
Tensions over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in several European media added to the troubles, according to several observers in the region. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Nigeria).
