The life of the Rt. Rev. Benjamin Kwashi, Bishop of Jos in the Anglican Church of Nigeria, was spared for the second time July 24 after a half dozen armed men invaded Bishopscourt, his residence.

Men armed with guns and knives overpowered two security guards at the gates of the bishop’s compound at around 2 a.m. and locked up four domestic staff. They then battered through the doors of the house, went upstairs and marched the bishop outside at gunpoint, threatening to kill him.

Inexplicably, the intruders then changed their mind, taking Bishop Kwashi back inside the house, looting the residence and beating the bishop’s teenage son, Rinji.

Jos is located in the center of the East African nation, approximately 150 miles northwest of the provincial headquarters in Abuja.

“I have seen a miracle,” Bishop Kwashi said in an interview. “Join me in thanking God that my life has been spared again.”

The home invasion is the second for the Kwashi family since moving to Bishopscourt. In February 2006 approximately 20 armed men wearing masks stormed Bishopscourt, demanding to know Bishop Kwashi’s whereabouts. When it was evident that the bishop was not at his residence, the gunmen beat and assaulted his wife, Gloria, and the couple’s two sons. They also robbed and beat the bishop’s secretary at the diocesan offices.

“This is now the second time that Gloria has seen all this,” Bishop Kwashi said. “It is worse for her. Please pray for her.”