The building of a HEKAN (Combined Churches of Christ) congregation in Kano State, northern Nigeria, was destroyed in religious rioting in May 2004.  Since then, intimidation by militant Muslims has prevented rebuilding, and the congregation has been forced to meet out in the open.

Last January the district head offered the pastor N800,000 (about £3000) for the land.  Even though the pastor refused the offer, construction of an Islamic school began on the site in November.  The church has now been told to take the money or risk being left with nothing.

Church authorities said today that they have been given little option and stated that the building of the Islamic school is now well underway. They added that if they were to turn down the money, then they may be left with nothing.

The HEKAN church has been one of a number of churches to face either land seizure or building demolition during violence in the Shari’ah states of central and northern Nigeria over the past few years.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW) Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert, says “It is unacceptable that Christians in Kano State are being treated as second-class citizens in respect of their right to ownership of land and property. This is a clear violation of the country’s federal constitution, which stipulates the right of any Nigerian to own land in any part of the country. We call upon the Federal government to uphold this constitutional provision and we urge the governing authorities of Kano to ensure a just settlement to this unfortunate incident.”

HEKAN is an evangelical Protestant denomination and one of the proprietors of the Theological College of Northern Nigeria.

Muslim-majority Kano State adopted Sharia law in 2000.