Ministry in Kaduna Nigeria - Pastor Paul
What follows is a report from our brother in Nigeria, Pastor Paul. When Paul, and his wife Blessing, heard about the recent murders in Kaduna State, they left the safety of their home in Abuja and traveled to some of the worst hit villages. They were able to minister to many of the survivors of the attack.
There are two major armed Islamic jihadist groups terrorizing Nigeria and its defenseless citizens, particularly members of the Christian faith. They are the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and the Boko Haram jihadists. The attacks were by the former.
Please keep Paul and Blessing in your prayers as they continue to take the Gospel to those in need.
REPORT ON A TRIP TO SOUTHERN KADUNA STATE NIGERIA (WHERE THEY WERE ATTACKED BY BANDITS) FROM 4th TO 6th FEBUARY 2021.
The trip from Abuja to Kafanchan town in Kaduna was about four hours. Because of the security challenges, we had to lodge at Kafanchan which is more secure than other part of southern Kaduna.
More than ten villages were attacked and burned. Some lost their loved ones and we couldn’t reach all the villages. At some we stood from a distance because the places are vulnerable to attack at anytime. There were threats of fresh attacks the entire time we we there. We were conscious of the environment and security order so we couldn’t take many pictures.
The villages we visited are Gora gan, Gora bafui and Gora sagwaza. Even though we passed through other villages that were attacked, we couldn’t stop because of a lack of security and the danger of further attacks. Some of the villages have been deserted leaving only elderly men. In other villages, the people come back in the morning and leave at noon because the attacks come mostly in the evenings and at night.
We were able to meet with some widows, elders, youths and the village council heads.
Below are the pictures we were able to take.
One of the house burnt down but no live was lost, they escaped.
The chief of Gora gan house burned and the mother was killed.
The chief secretary is the one with nose mask explaining to us how the incident happened. This is the house where the chief's mother was murdered. Beside it is the chief's palace.
The Council of elders with the youth leadership and some of the widows.
In the other villages where many people were killed we couldn’t take photographs. Some of the women whose husbands and children were murdered in front of them are traumatized. It’s a fresh attack so the wound in their heart is still fresh.
We hope to visit them again and other places, where there is presence of soldiers we couldn’t take pictures or have enough time with the victims.
The third and fourth from the left women are widows that lost their husbands in the attack. The man on the far left is the Baptist Church Pastor at Gora gan village, the man in green is the person that took us round.
The people are farmers of cash crops and livestock. Because of the insurgency they can’t settle for their trade so they are suffering from hunger. The little harvest they had stored was burned or taken away.
Report from Pst Paul Onkpe
Trinitarian Grace International, Nigeria.