08/28/2020 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – Late last night, Thursday, August 27, a group of suspected Fulani militants attempted to break into the house of a Christian pastor in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The militants, whom the pastor reported as speaking Fula, told the pastor to open his door and let them in. The pastor, Rev. Elisha Abu Dreams, told the Daily Post that, “The suspected kidnappers first came to my house at exactly 11:57pm and they called, spoke in Fulani and Hausa language that l should open the door for them. Immediately, l and my family started praying for divine intervention from God Almighty.”
He continued, “While we were praying and refused to open the entrance to the house, they tried using hammer to break the entrance to the house but could not succeed.” He continues that after the assailants failed to gain entry into the house, they moved to other houses in the village. The pastor confirmed that they kidnapped four individuals from the community including, an off duty police officer, a military man, a security officer, and a 14-year-old girl. It is unclear at this time if any of these individuals have been killed or if ransoms have been sent to their families.
The pastor also said that he tried calling the local security forces for help while the assailants tried to enter his home. These security personnel did not arrive in time to stop the attack however. This is common in Nigeria. In many attacks, security personnel only arrive hours after the attacks have finished. Many have claimed that this shows signs of collusion on the part of the military and police, however, it may also be that many of the villages are remote and take a long time to get to. This is especially true for villages that have no access by modern roads or on raods that have significantly deteriorated.
This attack on another pastor in Kaduna state, does show that there are groups still in the state that wish to harm the church and its leaders. Many pastors, Churches and Christian villages have been attack in past years in Southern Kaduna. Despite this, the governor of Kaduna state, El-Rufai, has never attempted to protect these people, and has on many occasions blamed them for the attacks, stating that they had attacked Muslims or Fulani first.
For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org.
