Pastor Jeremiah Omolewa of Living Faith Church in the city of Kaduna, Nigeria, was killed and his wife kidnapped on Aug. 4, 2019.
A Pentecostal Pastor was travelling with his wife and son to Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria when he was shot dead.
Pastor Jeremiah Omolewa of Living Faith Church also known as Winners Chapel was forced to stop along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway when Muslim Fulani herdsmen, appeared suddenly, shot indiscriminately at his vehicle, an action that killed the preacher on the spot on August. 4, 2019.
That was not all. Pastor Jeremiah’s son escaped the terrifying incident however, gunmen kidnapped his wife, and later contacted the family demanding a ransom of N50 million. (About 514 million shillings)
This report aside, Christian persecution watchdog Morning Star News revealed yesterday that another case was confirmed in a spate of kidnappings this month in Kaduna state, Nigeria.
The Rev. Joseph Hayap, chairman of the Kaduna State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), told the media outlet about the kidnapping of Pastor Elisha Noma, of Nagarta Baptist Church in Makiri, Kaduna state, in north-central Nigeria.
The incident occurred near Udawa, in Chikun local government area of Kaduna where the Kidnappers, numbering about 20, broke into the house of the Pastor.
“They picked me together with my father. But after a while in the bush, I was released and went away with my father. One of them was dressed in military camouflage. As they released me, they threatened that if we didn’t bring money in five days even though they didn’t mention the specific ransom, (which they later did),” media sources in Nigeria quoted the Pastor’s son as saying.
“The kidnapping herdsmen are now asking for 7 million naira, but we are still negotiating,” said Pastor Hayap.
Pastor Omolewa’s wife, according to Morning Star News, was released after the church negotiated and paid 3 million naira to the herdsmen as ransom.
What Church leaders say
Pastor Hayap said in an interview with local press said that it is unfortunate that the Kaduna state government has remained silent since the kidnapping of pastors and Christian leaders is now on the increase.
Hayap urged the government to live to its responsibility by protecting the lives of citizens, particularly pastors in the State who are now at the mercy of Kidnappers, saying “government should provide the necessary security in order to safeguard the lives of people”.
He remarked: “Keeping silence will not help to address the problem. When we cry out, we are doing so as a wake up call and also extending invitation to those who share in our pains to join us cry out for justice. We want to appeal to these kidnappers to fear God and release Reverend Elisha Numan and the two children of our Bishop.”
Hayap continued: “Reverend Elisha was sick when he was kidnapped and we are afraid about his health. The son of our Bishop is just 9 years old. He is not strong and mature to go through this torture. We are appealing that these innocent people be release.”
Nigerian preacher David O. Oyedepo, the founder and presiding Bishop of the megachurch Faith Tabernacle in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria, and Living Faith Church Worldwide called on the congregation to pray for the end of the culprits.
Oyedepo in his prayer said: “Except I am not sent, their end has come. This evil system will crash. And I am speaking as a prophet, not as a pastor, like somebody walking on the street.
“This evil system that has no value for life, this wicked system – Fulani demons: In the name of Jesus, their end has come.”
500 Kidnapped
Hayap said more than 500 Christians have been kidnapped in Kaduna state in the past four years. Churches have paid about 300 million Naira (US$827,321) to Muslim Fulani Herdsmen to ransom them, he said.
“We as the church, the body of Christ, have found ourselves in a very bad situation in Kaduna state,” he said. “Pastors and church members are being kidnapped, and huge sums of money are being demanded, and nothing has been done by Nigeria government to halt the situation.”
News Agencies contributed to this report.
