Nigerian builds 'biggest' statue of Jesus in Africa

 

A Nigerian businessman is set to unveil what he says is Africa's largest statue of Jesus, describing it as a symbol of peace in a country wracked by Islamist insurgency

Obinna Onuoha commissioned the 8.53 metre tall "Jesus de Greatest" statue in 2013, hiring a Chinese company to carve it out of white marble

Standing barefoot with arms outstretched, the 40 ton statue will tower over St Aloysius Catholic Church in the mainly Christian village of Abajah in Nigeria's southeastern state of Imo

 

Nigeria, Africa's largest country with 170 million people,  is split between a more prosperous Christian south and a poor  Muslim north