‘This Is Jihad’ — Ex-Canadian Lawmaker Reacts To Kwara Church Attack

Former Canadian lawmaker Goldie Ghamari has reacted sharply to a deadly attack on a church in Kwara State, describing the violence as jihad.

The attack occurred on Tuesday in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area, where armed bandits killed two people and injured one during coordinated raids. The violence, which unfolded inside a church and along the Ilorin–Kabba Road, forced travellers to abandon their vehicles and flee into surrounding bush paths.

Reacting on X to a video of the church attack shared by Sahara Reporters, she warned: “This is what Jihad looks like. Wake up world. If you don’t fight to end the Muslim Genocide of Christians in Nigeria, this violence will eventually spread to your own country.

“Learn from those of us whose societies have experienced Islamic terrorism for the last 1,400 years,” she added.

Police confirmed that a worshipper, Mr. Aderemi, was shot dead inside the church, while another victim, Mr. Tunde Asaba Ajayi, was later found in the bush. A vigilante, Segun Alaja, sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to an ECWA Hospital.

The Kwara Police Commissioner, Adekimi Ojo, claimed that his men responded swiftly to the attack.

He assured the public that security agencies would not relent until the hoodlums were neutralised.

The incident comes amid growing concerns over mass abductions and targeted attacks, following the recent kidnapping of 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi State.

Ghamari had in a recent programme hosted by British journalist, Piers Morgan, sparked a heated exchange with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar.

She accused the government of inaction and argued that the violence was jihad, not banditry.

“When someone yells ‘Allahu Akbar’ before they massacre Christians and burn churches, that’s jihad,” she said, warning about alleged links between the government and Iran.

Tuggar dismissed her claims as baseless and ill-informed, stating that the government does not classify killings by religion and emphasising that all victims are treated equally as Nigerians.

Highlighting his personal losses to the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, he insisted that Boko Haram’s primary targets are not Christians.

Tuggar accused Ghamari of inciting conflict from afar and warned that external commentary risked destabilising Nigeria’s social and ethnic balance.

Also speaking during the conversation, Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, a Plateau-based clergyman, raised alarms about systematic persecution of Christians, recounting more than 70 mass burials linked to violent attacks, including an incident in Dogona Awa where over 500 people were reportedly killed in a single night.