Abuja, Nigeria Suspected Islamic extremist militants on Wednesday (Jun. 5) killed three Christians and kidnapped another after intercepting them on a highway in northeast Nigeria, Christian leaders said.
The suspected Boko Haram terrorists stopped a commercial passenger vehicle along the Damaturu-Biu Highway in Yobe State and separated four Christians, killing three of them and taking the fourth hostage, said the Rev. Ibrahim Abako, secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Yobe State Chapter.
The terrorists had mounted a checkpoint near Kumaya village, near Yobe State’s border with Borno State, Abako said in a press statement.
“The Boko Haram terrorists targeted Christians and abducted four passengers who were Christians, releasing the Muslims,” Abako said.
He said the four Christians were traveling from Biu town to Damaturu.
“The terrorists dragged the four Christians out of the vehicle they were traveling in and took them to a bush, where they killed three of them and took the fourth at gunpoint to an unknown place,” Abako said. “Christian relations of the victims have recovered three corpses out of the four Christians abducted.”
He called on the Nigerian government and security agencies, especially the military and police, to take proactive measures to protect Nigerian citizens, regardless of their religion.
“We condemn in totality the killing of these three Christians and the abduction of one other Christian,” Abako said. “These incidents have been happening frequently without Nigerian authorities doing anything to prevent them from happening.”
The Rev. David Ayuba Azzaman, a pastor in northern Nigeria, confirmed the killing in a message seeking prayer.
On June 6, along the Biu-Damaturu Road in Yobe State, “Allah’s soldiers killed three Christians,” according to Pastor Azzaman.
He said he had received information denoting that Muslim extremists had singled out Christians.
These individuals sacrificed their lives for their faith in Jesus. He was praying for forgiveness for the Boko Haram members who carried out this horrific act. May they realize their wrongdoing and acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, bringing glory to His name.
Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, according to Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, at 3,300.
Nigeria was also the third highest country in several attacks on churches and other Christian buildings, such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with 750, according to the report.
Nigeria maintained its No. 6 ranking in the 2024 WWL of countries where being a Christian is most challenging, just as it did the previous year.
