Abuja:

UK Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International has awarded the "Courage to Be a Christian" title to the survivors of the 2022 Pentecost Sunday attack on Nigeria's St. Francis Xavier's Church. As a part of its 2023 #RedWednesday campaign, ACN's Britain office created the award. It aims to draw attention to the widespread persecution of Christians across the globe.

Margaret and Dominic Attah were in St. Francis Xavier's Church at the time of the attack. They flew to London on behalf of their parishioners to receive the honor. Meanwhile, Attah described the situation, claiming that gunshots were heard during Mass and that the perpetrators used explosives to cause destruction.

Attah claims that after the terrorists left, he looked for his wife but was unable to identify her because of her serious injuries. In addition, Margaret, a nurse, and others received life-altering injuries. The Nigerian government accuses Islamist terrorists, but no one has been held accountable so far.
 

Fiona Bruce, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, asked other lawmakers to raise awareness about the persecution of people like Margaret in Nigeria because of their beliefs. She urged both the UK and Nigerian governments to make more efforts to address this issue.