Gunmen in southern Nigeria on Tuesday (July 30) kidnapped a prominent Christian woman and wife of the attorney general of Delta state from a church Bible study in an attack that left her driver and a policeman dead, according to various sources.
Joan Onyemaechi, also known as Ada Anioma, was abducted from the King Jesus and I Church in Asaba, capital of Delta state, area residents said. A representative in the federal House of Representatives in 2015 and commissioner for Technical Education before her resignation earlier this year, Onyemaechi is married to state Attorney General Peter Mrakpor, who is also the state’s Commissioner of Justice.
Besides killing her driver and the policeman in the kidnapping, the gunmen also reportedly wounded another policeman and a civilian.
Church members Kenneth Ohen and Austin Okoronko told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that the gunmen stormed into the church building while members were holding a Bible study.
“Her police security men were killed before she was dragged into a car and drove off by the gunmen,” Ohen said.
The attack caused pandemonium as church members scattered amid the shooting, church members said.
Motives for the kidnapping were unclear, especially as her family reportedly has not received a demand for ransom from the assailants.
Bright Edafe, spokesperson for Delta State Police Command, confirmed the kidnapping and killings, telling Christian Daily International-Morning Star News officers have been deployed to areas of the Delta to track down the gunmen.
“We appeal for calm from the church members and public,” Edafe said.
On Jan. 23, 2023 in Delta state, assailants described as Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians and wounded and kidnapped others in Toru-Angiama village, Patani County.
In the 2024 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 Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (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.
