Nigerian Islamic extremists have threatened to kill a local pastor and his wife if their demands are not met and a ransom is not paid, local reports and media outlets said. Morning Star News. Pastor Paul Musa, pastor of the Christian Church of the Congregation of Christian Nations (COCIN) in Borno state, Nigeria, was kidnapped along with his wife in May 2023. In late June this year, Islamic extremists released a video showing a terrorist pointing a gun at the pastor’s head and him begging for his life.
“To those of you who are ready to secure our release, our captors have issued a one-week ultimatum to do what is necessary to meet their demands,” Musa said. Said In the video, he said: “If nothing is done within a week, me and my wife will be killed. Please do whatever you can to either get us out of here or hear the news of our death within the stipulated time.”
The exact date the video was released is unclear, but published reports indicate it was released sometime between June 21st and June 25th.
The amount of the ransom has also not been made public, but the same report suggests it ranges from $39,000 to $130,000.
According to Morning Star News, the church raised funds and offered the terrorists a certain amount of money, but it was rejected as insufficient.
Nigeria is the sixth most dangerous country for Christians, according to an annual Open Doors survey. World Watch ListChristians make up 46 percent of Nigeria’s population, but the country as a whole is majority Muslim.
“Christians in Nigeria, especially in the Muslim-majority north, face enormous pressure and terrible impunity from Islamic extremists and armed ‘bandits,'” the report states. “More Christians are killed each year in Nigeria because of their faith than in the rest of the world combined. Attacks are often brutal and can involve the destruction of property, abduction for ransom, sexual violence and murder, depriving believers of their livelihoods and forcing them from their homes, leaving them with a trail of grief and trauma.”
Photo credit: ©Social Media/Boko Haram
Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
