Nigerian Pastor’s Kidnapped Wife In Life Danger After Ransom Demands
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ABUJA, NIGERIA (Worthy News) – Suspected Islamist gunmen have demanded 100 million Nigerian nairas (about $135,000 “) in ransom for the kidnapped wife of a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) pastor in north-central Nigeria, several Nigerian sources confirmed Monday.
“Yes, the church, relatives, and friends have to pay this huge amount, or she will be killed,” well-informed Christian evangelist and farmer Paul Jongas told Worthy News.
“And that’s why we are always afraid of being kidnapped because one may die in their hands. We as Christians still don’t have voices [in government], especially in northern Nigeria,” added Jongas, a married father of four forced to flee to Abuja, the capital, because of his faith in Christ.
He expressed concern about the plight of Blessing, the wife of RCCG senior pastor Pastor Johnson Ajiboye. She was kidnapped late Thursday at her provision store in Elerinjare, a remote town in Kwara State’s Ifelodun Local Government Area, Worthy News learned.
The gunmen, numbering about seven, reportedly stormed the area, shooting sporadically before kidnapping the pastor’s wife and her two shop assistants, who have since been freed.
Recalling the ordeal, the pastor said in published remarks that the gunmen came from the bush beside the Community Primary School in the area.
NO MONEY TOUCHED
“The gunmen did not touch or cart away any money. They only grabbed my 34-year-old wife, Blessing Ajiboye, after removing the baby tied to her back [in her shop]. They dropped the baby on the ground,” he told Nigerian media.
A neighbor sitting near the shop was reportedly hit by a bullet and was said to be currently receiving medical treatment at a private hospital.
The incident highlighted broader concerns about massive kidnappings, killings, and abductions of Christians in Nigeria.
On Monday, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu swore in 45 ministers to a new cabinet that must improve security and tackle problems of sluggish growth, a weak currency, and high inflation in Africa’s largest economy.
The ceremony happened some three months after Tinubu took office on May 29 following a disputed presidential election in February which was challenged by his primary opponents in court.
Tinubu’s cabinet is bigger than that of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, who had 36 ministers in his first term and 43 in his second term in office. Under the law, the president must include a member from each of the country’s 36 states.
Nigeria ranks 6th on the annual World Watch List of 50 nations, where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face the most persecution.
“Christians in Nigeria suffer persecution from an ingrained agenda of enforced Islamisation, which is particularly prevalent in the north of the country and has gradually been spreading south,” Open Doors warned.
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