The whereabouts of a pastor and his daughter kidnapped in northwestern Nigeria were unknown after their captors threatened to kill them even after receiving a ransom payment.
Isa Andrew, chaplain with All Saints Protestant Church of the Zamfara State Police Command, and his 13-year-old daughter, Grace Isa Andrew, 13, were kidnapped from their home in Gusau on July 14. Relatives and friends had managed to pay a ransom of 6 million naira (3,770 USD), only to have the captors threaten to kill him if they did not receive another 6 million naira along with three motorcycles by Thursday (Aug. 15).
Relatives had received a video of the blindfolded pastor making an appeal for payment of the ransom, his daughter standing beside him with an AK-47 rifle strapped to her shoulder as a sign that she would be married off and made to join the assailants.
Pastor Andrew in the video identified himself as a pastor and chaplain who worked with the Interfaith Directorate of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), saying his daughter Grace was with him. He said that after they were kidnapped from their home, his family paid a ransom of 6 million naira, but that the captors upon collection demanded another payment of the same amount along with two Boxer motorcycles and a Honda motorcycle.
“We did all we could, we sold everything that we have; sold our properties, sold our car, sold our items; we took loans, my brother took loans, my wife took loans persons of goodwill also assisted us, to raise the 6 million naira that was demanded,” Pastor Andrew said. “As it is, fellow Nigerians, I want to beg of you, I want to beg of our nation’s First Lady, the mother of the nation, to please come to our aid. She’s the Esther of our time, please come to our aid.
He said his daughter was “being exposed to a lot of maltreatment, exposed to starvation,” and that he was a diabetic whose health was deteriorating each day.
“Please come to our aid, assist us. We have been given from now up to next week Thursday, 15 August, 2024, otherwise I will be executed, and my daughter will be forcefully married out. She’s just 13 years of age,” he said. “Please help us. I need your help. The Lord bless you.”
The Zamfara State Police command confirmed the kidnapping of the pastor and his daughter in the wee hours of July 14. State Police Commissioner Mohammed Dalijan said 53 patrol vehicles had been deployed to various streets in Gusau.
Gusau resident Timothy Soladoye obtained a copy of the video and confirmed that it was his chaplain/pastor who was kidnapped with his daughter.
“We are still contributing for his release,” Soladoye told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News before the Aug. 15 deadline. “Please let us share and do something for their possible release before the said Thursday, 15 August.”
The video was widely circulated across social media platforms on Aug. 10.
Gusau resident Emmanuel Bulus also sent out a plea.
“Isa Andrew is not only a dedicated civilian working with the Nigerian police but also serves as a chaplain in their church,” Bulus said. “My fellow Nigerians, I implore you, let’s not allow this tragedy to unfold. We must rally together to save Isa and Grace and reunite them with their wife and mother and two other children.”
Pastor Andrew was reportedly abducted eight days after gunmen released parish priest Mikah Suleiman of St. Raymond Catholic Church Damba, who had been kidnapped for 16 days.
In Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (WWL) of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria was ranked No. 6, as it was in the previous year. 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 the WWL report.
More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, with 3,300. Nigeria was also the third highest country in number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with 750, according to the report.
