News
Terrorists Give Church Ultimatum As Kidnapped Clergymen lives Hang in the Balance
Boko Haram terrorists have given the church of Pastor Paul Musa an ultimatum: Pay 24 million CFA francs (approximately $39,180.74 USD) within 7 days, or he will be beheaded. Relatives of Pastor Musa believe he is being held in Cameroon.
Musa’s son called him from Cameroon and informed him of the terrorists’ demands, according to Azzaman.
Musa is a pastor at the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in Borno. The Church of Christ in Nigeria is one of the most numerous of congregations in northern Nigeria and among the most devastated by attacks by jihadists or Christian-hating bandit terrorists.
“Musa and his wife were kidnapped on March 23, 2023, in Gamboru Ngala, along with other Christians, but he is the only one still alive,” Azzaman tells TruthNigeria.
“The terrorists released a video on Monday, June 24, 2024, giving Musa’s family and church 7 days to pay up or face death. As of Friday, June 29, 2024, he has less than 50 hours left.
The COCIN church has raised an amount and offered it to the terrorists, but the terrorists consider it insufficient.
“His church members were able to raise a small amount of money and send it to the terrorists, but they refused, adding that it was not sufficient,” according to Azzaman.
In an exclusive interview with TruthNigeria, the Chairman of the Borno State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Most Rev. Dr. John Bakeni, vowed to bring the plight of kidnapped Pastor Paul Musa to the attention of Gov. Baba Umara Zulum, seeking his urgent intervention.
Multiple videos featuring Pastor Musa have surfaced in the past, and CAN has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the safe release of all Christian captives, including Pastor Musa, according to Bakeni.
He made a heartfelt appeal, saying, “I urge the Governor to intervene and secure the safe return of Pastor Musa and his wife. I also call on all Christians across the state and country to pray fervently, seeking God’s intervention and salvation for the Musa family.”
Jihadists now target Bishop Naga
The Christian community in the northeastern region of Nigeria is facing a dire situation, with Christians becoming targets for jihadists such as Boko Haram and ISWAP. The chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the Northeast region, Bishop Mohammad Naga, told TruthNigeria while commenting on the plight of Pastor Paul Musa and the larger Christian community.
“It’s a dire situation; from Maiduguri in the Northeast to Benue in the Middle Belt, these jihadists are targeting and killing Christians,” Bishop Naga explained.
“After failing to impose Sharia law and Islamize the country, they’ve resorted to kidnapping, killing, and destroying Christians’ livelihoods. The situation is becoming increasingly desperate, and we urge the government to take immediate action to protect our community.”
Naga urged Borno State Governor Baba Umara Zulum to intervene and ensure Pastor Musa’s and his wife’s safe return.
“I appeal to Governor Zulum, in the name of God, to do everything possible to prevent the terrorists from killing Pastor Musa. Let him use his office to bring Musa and his wife back alive. We need the government to take concrete steps to address this crisis and ensure the safety of our people.”
The pleas from Rev. Naga and Most Rev. Dr. John Bakeni come as the clock ticks away on the terrorists’ deadline, leaving the Christian community anxiously awaiting a miraculous intervention.
Kidnapped Catholic Priest Threatened
A similar tragedy has struck again in Zamfara State, as another religious leader, Father Mikah Suleiman, has been kidnapped by Fulani bandit-terrorists and threatened with death.
A heart-breaking video shows the Catholic priest in the forest of Zamfara pleading for his life, battered and shaken.
Father Suleiman was taken from his church in Damba, Gusau, on June 22, 2024. In the distressing video, he begs for help, his eyes filled with tears and fear. “Please, I beg of you, help me! I’m the only one here, and they’ll kill me if a ransom isn’t paid immediately. Don’t abandon me to these monsters!”
According to Gambo Abubakar, a seasoned journalist in Gusau, the terrorists had issued a ransom demand to the church, but it appears the church failed to respond promptly, leading the terrorists to issue a dire ultimatum.“
Speaking to TruthNigeria, Azzaman said, “Fulani terrorists, Boko Haram Boko Haram, ISWAP and Ansaru are united in one thing, to kill, maim and render Christians penniless while displacing them from their ancestral lands.
“If you check the news these days, either Fulani terrorists are kidnapping wives and children of pastors, or they are killing the pastors.
“Within the past two weeks, more than three pastors and their wives have been kidnapped for ransom in the Northwest.
“In the Northeast, many Christians are being slaughtered by terrorists.
“in the Middle Belt, the states of Plateau, Benue, Taraba and Kogi are being ravaged by Islamists,” Azzaman said.
Government Silent On Kidnapping and Killings
Azzaman also charged the Federal Government and State Governments for not doing enough to hold the terrorists to account.
“When Christians are killed, the Federal and State governments are quiet, and they do not condemn the acts, nor do they send troops to find the perpetrators,” he said. TruthNigeria refers to this ongoing quiescent condition as a “Conspiracy of Silence.”
Efforts by TruthNigeria to get a response from the Catholic Church leadership in Zamfara and the Nigerian Police Force concerning the fate of the priest failed, as phone calls to the Catholic officials in Gusau were not answered or returned.
The U.S. State Department regularly attributes the violence in Nigeria to the effect of climate change or “farmer-herder clashes.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the U.S. Congressional Committee on Appropriations on May 22 that the atrocities in Nigeria are concerning but “have nothing to do with religion.”
Yet, since 2000, 62,000 Christians in Nigeria have been murdered in genocide perpetrated by Islamist jihadist groups including Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani militias, according to the non-profit Genocide Watch. The International Committee for Nigeria refers to this genocide as the “Silent Slaughter.”
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 24.23% in March 2025, according to the official government data source, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The rise in the country’s inflation rate, from 23.18% back in February 2025 to 24.23% in March 2025, reflected a major increase in the rising commodity and energy costs in the last few weeks.
According to the March 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report which measures the inflation rate released by the government agency on Tuesday, the country’s food inflation rate was 21.79% year-on-year in March 2025.
The food inflation rate, however, showed a decrease compared to the food inflation rate of 23.51% recorded in February 2025.
Economists had predicted that the country’s inflation rate which decreased minimally in February would rise when the Dangote Refinery and the state-run NNPCL got entangled in a petrol price war that culminated in the temporary termination of a naira-for crude agreement between the two oil companies and the subsequent increase in the pump price of petrol.
Some observers had also said the minimal reduction in the prices of food commodities experienced earlier in February was not sustainable, attributing the temporary decline in the prices of food to the importation intervention of the Federal Government.
Food and commodity inflation have skyrocketed as Nigerians battle what can pass for the worst cost of living crisis since the country’s independence over six decades ago, a development that economic wizards have attributed to President Bola Tinubu’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of the forex rates.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has apologised to the people of Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) for the failure of government and security agencies to protect lives and properties.
Fifty-one persons were gunned down early Monday in the Zikke community of the LGA, with houses razed and many displaced about two weeks after a similar attack led to the killing of scores of persons in Bokkos Local Government Area.
Less than two days after the most recent assault, Governor Mutfwang apologised for the government’s inability to protect the people.
Fifty-one persons were gunned down early Monday in the Zikke community of the LGA, with houses razed and many displaced about two weeks after a similar attack led to the killing of scores of persons in Bokkos Local Government Area.
Less than two days after the most recent assault, Governor Mutfwang apologised for the government’s inability to protect the people.
The governor said this on Tuesday at the palace of the Paramount Ruler in Miango.
“I will tell you the truth: I have been crying since yesterday because I had trusted God that all the arrangements were put in place, that this will not happen again. We have made investments in security,” he said.
But like all human arrangements, sometimes they fail. I want to admit that on Sunday night into Monday morning, we failed you. Please, forgive me.”
He urged the people not to relent in their efforts to secure their communities and ensure that they complement security agencies’ efforts by providing vital information for intelligence gathering and expose the antics of the criminals.
Governor Mutfwang, in the company of security chiefs and members of the state executive council, was in Zikke community to commiserate with the people on the death of over fifty persons killed in Monday’s attacks.
The Paramount Ruler of Irigwe land, Ronku Aka, who is the Brangwe of Irigwe, urged the government to come to the aid of the communities with the provision of social amenities in the area.
The governor and the entourage also went to see some of the families who lost their loved ones in the attack. The victims have been buried just as members of the community demanded action to stem the rising wave of insecurity in the state.
Plateau State has been a hotbed of attacks, but the renewed spate of attacks adds a fresh layer of twist to the decades-long crisis rocking the North-Central state.
After the most recent assaults, President Bola Tinubu ordered security agencies to fish out the masterminds, describing the attacks as condemnable.
While experts have linked the lingering Plateau crisis to farmers-herders tussle for resources, Governor Muftwang said it was sponsored and genocidal.
According to him, over 64 communities in the state have been taken over by gunmen.
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