Nigeria: Evangelical Couple Acquitted of False Charges After Three Years’ Imprisonment
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – While Nigeria’s Islamic government has turned a blind eye to the jihadists who murder and abduct thousands of Christians each year, a Nigerian court in Kaduna state has acquitted an evangelical pastor and his wife who were falsely accused and imprisoned on charges of kidnapping and proselytizing a 12-year-old girl, CBN News reports.
Associates of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA Church), Rev. Jonah Gangas and his wife, Josephine, were accused of kidnapping a runaway Muslim girl in 2013 and having her live with them for seven years, CBN News said. The girl was reunited with her family after graduating from high school.
However, a Muslim organization reported the couple to police and they were arrested in 2020, CBN News reports. They were imprisoned without bail for three years until their trial.
The couple were represented by ADF International when, after many delays, their case finally came before the High Court of Justice of Kaduna State. “For simply helping this young girl, and taking her in during a moment of need, they were punished, prosecuted, and imprisoned,” ADF attorney Sean Nelson said in a statement. “We are pleased that the court has sided with Reverend and Mrs. Gangas, and we hope that this decision will positively impact other Christians and religious minorities in the country who are being unjustly punished for their faith, as well,” Nelson said.
The court’s decision is especially welcomed as Christians are violently and systematically persecuted in Nigeria, with exceedingly little protection from the authorities: Nigeria ranks six on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
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