The EYN (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa of Nigeria) has buried Ezekiel Bitrus, the member shot dead during the church demolition by the Borno State Government.
The incident triggered outrage among the Christian community. State authorities are maintaining communication with the leadership to douse tension.
Last Thursday, the Borno Geographic Information System (BOGIS) pulled down the building with valuables inside.
BOGIS insisted that the structure, located at the Maduganari area of Maiduguri, violated land administration and urban development laws.
Bitrus, 29, died after security operatives attached to the agency fired live bullets as worshippers protested the destruction of the EYN branch.
BOGIS Executive Secretary, Adam Bababe was almost lynched by charged youth who vowed to retaliate the daylight murder.
Governor Babagana Zulum has ordered the police to investigate the shooting. Bababe is still in office despite presiding over a deadly exercise.
At Bitrus’ funeral procession attended by a mammoth crowd, the majority of the mourners did not shed tears.
They were in high spirits and sang victory choruses as the casket was carried to the gravesite.
One of the songs chanted in Hausa goes thus: “I will go with Jesus to any length, no matter the roughness of the road. I must go, I must go!”
On Sunday, EYN congregants and other Christians – in solidarity – observe service and prayers inside rubbles of the demolished church. The photos went viral.
