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Nigerian Pastor and Wife Face Execution by Islamic Terrorists If Ransom Isn't Paid
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Published Jul 02, 2024
Islamic terrorists in Nigeria are threatening to kill a local pastor and his wife if their demands are not met and a ransom is not paid, according to local reports and Morning Star News. The minister, Rev. Paul Musa of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Borno state, Nigeria, was kidnapped alongside his wife in May 2023. In late June of this year, Islamic terrorists released a video depicting a terrorist pointing a gun at the pastor’s head as he pleaded for his life.
“One week ultimatum has been given by our captors for you who are ready to secure our release, to do that which is necessary to meet their demands,” Musa said in the video. “If within one week nothing is done, me and my wife will be killed. My appeal is that you do whatever you can within the stipulated time to get us out of here or receive the news about our death.”
It is not known the exact date the video was released, although published reports suggest it was released between June 21 and June 25.
The ransom is also not publicly known; those same reports suggest it ranges from $39,000 to $130,000.
The church raised funds and offered the terrorists a sum of money, but it was rejected as insufficient, Morning Star News reported.
Nigeria is the sixth most dangerous country for Christians, according to Open Doors’ annual World Watch List. Although Christians make up 46 percent of Nigeria, the country is predominantly Muslim.
“Christians in Nigeria, particularly in the Muslim-majority north, continue to live under immense pressure and to be terrorized with devastating impunity by Islamic militants and armed ‘bandits,’” the report said. “More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria each year than everywhere else in the world combined. The attacks are often brutal in nature and can involve the destruction of properties, abductions for ransom, sexual violence, and death. Believers are stripped of their livelihoods and driven from their homes, leaving a trail of grief and trauma.”
Photo Credit: ©Social Media/Boko Haram
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
