09/28/2019 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – On September 14, Suspected Fulani militants attacked the village of Bagoma in Kaduna State, Nigeria. During the attack, the militants tried to kill Rev. Ishaku Katung of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA). On that night, they broke into the church premises and attacked the sleeping husband and wife. Rev. Katung was able to escape, but was shot. His wife, Esther Ishaku Katung, did not make it away, and was taken by the attackers.
Over the next two weeks, the militants told the family that if they did not receive a ransom, that they would kill her. It took the family two weeks to raise nearly $700 to pay the ransom. After they paid it, they found her body in the bushes. She had been killed by her kidnapper’s days before receiving the ransom. This means that they killed her and still demanded the money.
“Information we got from some of the kidnapped victims who escaped from the herdsmen’s enclave shows that Esther Katung and two other victims had escaped from the herdsmen’s captivity, but she was recaptured by them,” Pastor Hayab told Morning Star News. “She attempted to escape with two others after they were kidnapped by the herdsmen; this infuriated the herdsmen, leading them to kill her. They broke her legs in order to prevent her from escaping and smashed her head too. This led to her death.”
Please pray for Rev. Katung and his family as they must now bury his wife. This type of tragedy is becoming all too common in Kaduna State and throughout the Middle Belt of Nigeria. If the Nigerian government does not take protection of its citizens more seriously, than thousands will continue to die at the hands of violent extremists and criminals.
