Pastors Kidnapped in Kaduna State, Nigeria

By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreynalds@gmail.com ) 

JOS, NIGERIA (ANS-March 27, 2016) --  Unidentified individuals on March 21 kidnapped three church leaders at gunpoint in northern Nigeria, Christian leaders said.

According to a story by Morning Star News, the armed men stormed a church prayer camp site in the city of Kaduna, where the pastors were supervising work in preparation for an Easter retreat for their church, the Haddiyar Ekklesiya Kristi A Nigeria (United Church of Christ in Nigeria), said the Rev. Jibrailu Wobiya, general secretary of the body.

Abducted were Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Dziggau, president of the church, Rev. Iliya Anto, deputy president of the church, and Rev. Yakubu Dzarma, a retired church leader.

Anto was released hours after the abduction due to poor health, but the kidnappers are demanding US$500,000 for the other two church leaders.

Wobiya, who escaped with other church members from the service, told Morning Star News that the three pastors were kidnapped as they and other church members were praying.

“We were all holding a prayer meeting at the prayer camp located along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway in the city of Kaduna,” Wobiya said. “We were working on the camp site in preparation for our forthcoming church conference when the kidnappers invaded the place, and began shooting into the air.”

Armed with AK-47 rifles and with their faces covered, the assailants struck at about 10 a.m., disrupted the service and dragged the three pastors into their vehicle as church members fled, he said.

The United Church of Christ in Nigeria belongs to the Taraya Ekklesiyoyin Kristi A Nigeria (TEKAN, or Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria), which unites 13 congregations.

Dziggau, in addition to being church president, is also president of the TEKAN.

Rev. Moses Ebuga, general secretary of the TEKAN, said at a press conference in Jos on March 22 that the incident was shocking. He urged the Nigerian government and security agencies to rescue the two church leaders.

“The kidnappers have contacted me, being the general secretary of TEKAN, about the two pastors they are holding captive, and they are demanding that we pay them a ransom of 100 million naira,” Ebuga said. “Where are we going to get that kind of money?”

Ebuga said the kidnappers used Anto's cell phone to demand payment.
“As a body, we are calling on the government to do everything possible to ensure the safety of the leaders, unearth their whereabouts and to have the perpetrators fished out,” Morning Star News reported Ebuga said.

Well-armed cattle rustlers in Kaduna state who have long raped and pillaged have recently turned to kidnapping, according to published reports. Police officials in northern Kaduna reportedly said they have set up a special task force to tackle the “change of tactics by the bandits.”

After meeting in Abuja on March 24, leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) called on the government to take urgent measures to rescue the pastors.

Rev. Musa Asake, national secretary of the association, said in a statement that the church leaders are known for their peaceful disposition and commitment to ensuring the preaching of the gospel in northern Nigeria.

“Our hearts go out in prayer for their quick and unconditional release by their captors unharmed,” Morning Star News reported he said.

“We wish to use this opportunity to call on all the relevant security agencies and the Kaduna state government where Dziggau resides to leave no stone unturned in ensuring their quick release.”

He added, “We kindly request all men and women of goodwill to join faith with us as we lift our eyes in prayer unto the hills of heaven. We have an assurance that our help ultimately comes from God, the maker of heaven and earth, and indeed the Author of life. Our God will not let us down. He will touch the hearts of Dziggau's abductors and all those involved in this unwholesome act of criminality and wickedness to release him immediately.”

For more information visit http://morningstarnews.org

Photo captions: 1) Government House Monthly Prayer Meeting at Uyo, Nigeria. 2) Jeremy and Elma Reynalds.

About the writer: Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, www.joyjunction.org. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "From Destitute to Ph.D." Additional details on "From Destitute to Ph.D." are available at www.myhomelessjourney.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, Elma. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at  jeremyreynalds@gmail.com  

Note: If you would like to help support the ASSIST News Service, please go to www.assistnews.net and click on the DONATE button to make your tax-deductible gift (in the US), which will help us continue to bring you these important stories. If you prefer a check, please make it out to ASSIST and mail it to: PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA. Thank you.

You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)