Nigeria: Two Kidnapped Church Pastors Released Amid Ongoing Violence

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – While Christians in northern Nigeria remain extremely vulnerable to killings and kidnapping by Islamic terrorists, especially Fulani militant herdsmen, two abducted pastors were released from captivity on January 5, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

The Rev. James Kwayang and the Rev. Ishaku Chiwar of the EYN (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria) were abducted from their church premises in Mbila-Malibu town, Song County, Adamawa state on December 29, 2024, Rev. Daniel Mbaya, EYN president said in a statement.

Thanking church members and other Christians for their prayers for the pastors’ safe return, Mbaya said in a press release: “As we celebrate the safe return of these two dedicated servants of God, we are reminded of the power of collective prayer and support.”

While Nigerian Christians have been notoriously subject to terror attacks from Islamic militant groups like Boko Haram, they are especially targeted by radicalized Fulani herdsmen. “Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds,” MSN notes in its report.

Noting the virulence with which Fulani terrorists have targeted Nigerian Christians, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief stated in a 2020 report: “They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity.”

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