An Anglican church in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in northern Nigeria, is building a clinic and trauma centre for the victims of Boko Haram attacks.
The Bishop of the Maiduguri Diocese, the Most Rev Emmanuel Mani, said the trauma centre will be open to people of all faiths.
“What [the government] told us is not to restrict the hospital to the church only, but to make it open to other faith [sic], aside [from] the IDPs [internally displaced people], so that all communities will benefit from the gesture,” he said, as reported by Premium Times.
“This is a diocesan hospital for all of us. We are going to use our doctors, nurses, and all health workers – both retired and serving – to render services for the community, and we hope [these] services would be free of charge.”
As World Watch Monitor reported in September 2015, Maiduguri has borne the brunt of Boko Haram’s attacks, but an improvement to the city’s security last summer allowed visitors in for the first time in about two years.
Nigeria’s military then said it had recaptured villages and rescued 90 people in a process that involved the “continuous elimination” of the group from Nigerian territory.
However, after two months without an attack, a 20th September bomb blast left at least 54 dead and 90 injured, and an audio message purportedly from Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau called the Nigerian army “liars” for saying troops had regained territory.
