The United Missionary Church of Africa in Ilorin was among the 18 churches destroyed by Muslims during two days of rioting on 18 and 19 December 1999 (Church of the Open Door 11 Mar. 2000; The News 28 Dec. 1999).

The pastor of the church was inside it when the religious disturbances began and was forced to leave the premises to take refuge elsewhere (ibid.). While the Church of the Open Door report states that the pastor's name was Shola Kolapo (11 Mar. 2000), The News states that the church's pastor was Reverend S.A. Ekundayo (28 Dec. 1999). According to The News report, the United Missionary Church was destroyed by 500 Muslims on 18 December 1999 and on 19 December 1999, some "fundamentalists" returned to the church property "baying for Ekundayo's blood," who was forced to flee with his family (ibid.). Ekundayo reported the incident to the police commissioner and appealed to the state governor to take action, but the governor did not visit the sites of destroyed churches until five days after the incidents (ibid.). Two sources state that no deaths or injuries had been reported to the authorities following the rampage by Muslims (BBC 21 Dec. 1999; Church of the Open Door 11 Mar. 2000). However, the Vanguard reported that Rev. Ekundayo had been "seriously injured" in the attack and that he had been placed on a critical list at hospital (21 Dec. 1999). No additional information on Ekundayo could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

The Post Express reported on 23 December 1999 that Muslim youths had faced off with police at the chief magistrate court to pressure the authorities to release some of their friends who had been incarcerated following the attacks and vandalisms on the churches a few days earlier in Ilorin. Police used teargas to disperse the protesting youths and made some arrests (ibid.). The incident forced the chief magistrate to relocate to try the suspects elsewhere (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

BBC News Online. 21 December 1999. "Nigerian Police Move to Protect Churches." http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/world/africa/newsid_572000/572824.stm [Accessed 6 Feb. 2001]

Church of the Open Door. 11 March 2000. "Nigeria: Muslim Youth Gangs Destroyed 18 Christian Churches in Nigeria." http://www.chopdr.org/missnet3.htm [Accessed 7 Feb. 2001]

The News [Lagos]. 28 December 1999. Ademola Adegbamigbe. "Nigeria: Fanatical Fury." (Africa News 28 Dec. 1999/NEXIS)

Post Express [Lagos]. 23 December 1999. "Ilorin Moslem Fanatics in Face-Off with Police." http://www.postexpresswired.com/postexpress.nsf/24c35a000fe637798525691a0076c2cb/82b366e4fb6a9e5985256850002fe987?OpenDocument&Highlight=2,Ilorin,church [Accessed 7 Feb. 2001]

Vanguard [Lagos]. 21 December 1999. "Ilorin Zealots in Fresh Attacks on Churches." (Africa News 21 Dec. 1999/NEXIS)

IRB Databases

Research Directorate's Country File: Nigeria. 1998-2000

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sites including:

Adherents.com

All Africa.com

Amnesty International

Daily Mail & Guardian [Johannesburg]. Search Engine

The Guardian [London]. Search Engine

Human Rights Watch

NigeriaNews.net. Search Engine

ReliefWeb

US Department of State. September 2000. 2000 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.

Search engines including:

Dogpile

Fast Search

Google