Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a Christian in right now as fighting rages between Christians and Muslims. Several days ago we reported how Muslim terrorists kidnapped a Christian pastor in Nigeria and were holding him for ransom. He has just been released from captivity according to a recent report:
The Rev. Jen Tivkaa Moses, kidnapped by young Fulani men on Friday (Aug. 4) on the highway from Jos to Abuja in Plateau state, was brought back to Jos at about 1 a.m. on Wednesday, according to a statement from leaders of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA).
The church leaders would not say whether a ransom was paid to the kidnappers, who had demanded 1 million naira (US2,730), but church sources told Morning Star News a payment was made to secure his release.
The Rev. Ishaku Yaro, a pastor at ECWA headquarters in Jos, wrote a Facebook post on Wednesday excitedly announcing the release of the pastor, adding that special prayers were held for him at the residence of the general secretary of the ECWA in Jos.
“Praise God we arrived in Jos safely with our CE [Christian Education] Director at about 1 a.m. on the 9th August 2017,” Yaro stated. “Special prayers took place at the ECWA GS house, and he was reunited with his wife. Please allow him to rest … Presently, he will be somewhere resting for at least 3 days before coming back home.”
Pastor Moses was kidnapped by armed gunmen believed to be Fulani herdsmen while he and his driver were on their way to attend a church leadership seminar set for Saturday; the event was cancelled as a result of the kidnapping.
The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Gado, president of the ECWA, and the Rev. Yunusa S. Madu, ECWA general secretary, suggested
“bad egg” police were allowing Christians to be kidnapped.“Considering the short distance between the police checkpoint and the spot in which the pastor and other passengers were attacked by the kidnappers, one would have expected a swift response by the police to rescue them, but unfortunately they were helplessly abandoned in the hands of the kidnappers,” they said in the statement. “This scenario, like many others as have been attested to by many residents along Abuja-Kaduna road, lends credence to the possible collaboration of some bad egg police and other security personnel in the increasing crime of kidnapping and armed robbery along that highway, or how do you explain the fact that for all the period our pastor was in the hands of the kidnappers, they neither changed position nor mobile number, and yet the security agents were not able to apprehend or track them.”
In recent days other ECWA pastors and members, including heavily pregnant women and children, have been kidnapped by young Fulani men along the Abuja-Kaduna road and subjected to various degrees of trauma before being released after payment of ransoms, they said.
“Very recently, one of our pastors who had just regained his freedom was held hostage for 5 days by some daredevil young Fulani kidnappers who seized him along Jere-Bwari road, just 200 meters away from a major police checkpoint on the curve bridge after shooting the driver of the vehicle in which he was travelling,” they said. “We therefore use this opportunity to call on the federal government to do the needful in strengthening security of lives and property in the country, especially in the country’s highways, through which many Nigerians ply in search of their daily bread.”
They urged the Nigerian government to step up its effort to secure lives and property. (source)