The family of Pastor Moses Guguma was on its way to join him in Damasak when the gunmen stopped their vehicle.
Damasak lies in northern Borno state near the Lake Chad basin, about 100 miles from Maiduguri, the state capital. The surrounding region has experienced repeated attacks, kidnappings and displacement during Nigeria’s long-running conflict with Boko Haram and its splinter factions.
The pastor’s family was traveling in a commercial vehicle from Maiduguri to Damasak, where Pastor Guguma leads the congregation of the Church of Christ in All Nations (COCIN). The vehicle was stopped in the afternoon near a military checkpoint in Kareto village in Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno state.
“The gunmen ordered the pastor’s wife and her children to leave the vehicle but permitted the driver and other passengers to continue their journey because they are all Muslims,” an eyewitness told International Christian Concern (ICC). “They took the pastor’s wife and her three children to the bush, but the Nigerian army could do nothing. He said the place is close to a Nigerian Army checkpoint.”
Pastor Guguma said the trip was expected to reunite the family after days of medical treatment in the hospital. The pastor asked the public to pray for the return of his wife and children.
“My wife was sick,” the pastor said. “She just recovered, and she was discharged from the hospital, coming to my station to see me and continued the ministry. Pray for us. My wife is still recovering from the illness.”
Church members said the pastor’s wife and children were abducted because of their faith. They added that the extremists often ask for a large ransom payment or they kill anyone they’ve captured who refuses to convert to Islam. At the time of this post, no ransom has been demanded.
Boko Haram is a Nigeria-based Islamist terrorist organization formally known as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad. The group seeks to overthrow Nigeria’s secular government and establish a system governed by its interpretation of Islamic law.
The United States designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2013. The group has attacked churches, Christian communities, schools, government institutions, security forces, and Muslims whom it considers opposed to its ideology. Boko Haram was also responsible for the April 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno.
ISWAP traces its origin to Boko Haram’s 2015 pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State group. It later developed into a separate faction operating primarily in northeastern Nigeria and across the Lake Chad region, including areas bordering Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
The United States designated ISWAP a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2018. According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, the organization uses kidnappings, targeted killings, roadside bombs, armed assaults and hostage-taking. Its targets have included Christians, aid workers, government personnel, military forces and civilians who resist its interpretation of Islamic law.
Both Boko Haram and ISWAP are therefore internationally recognized terrorist organizations. Their violence has affected Christians, Muslims and other civilians across northeastern Nigeria, although Christian ministers, churches and families have repeatedly been selected for abduction or execution.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that Boko Haram and ISWAP continued to impose extremist religious beliefs in areas where they operate and remained responsible for serious violations against religious communities. The commission also recorded continuing abductions of pastors, worshippers, women, and children across Nigeria.
Pastor Guguma and his congregation in Damasak are praying for the return of his wife and children.
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