In yet another deliberate and targeted assault against Christians in Katsina State, Nigeria, armed Islamic militants attacked a church service on the evening of Monday July 7.
They shot and killed a Christian pastor and another worshipper during a Bible study. A Christian woman was abducted and taken to an unknown location.
According to eyewitnesses, about 15 to 20 gunmen entered the Bege Baptist Church while the service was in progress. The attackers, who spoke with Fulani accents, opened fire on the congregation.
Reverend Emmanuel Na’allah Auta was shot while leading the service, along with another worshipper named Mallam Samaila Gidan Taro. A woman from the congregation was taken by force and her whereabouts remain unknown.
Local believers say the murdered man, Gidan Taro, was a former Muslim who had converted to Christianity and that Pastor Auta had spent years working to promote peace between Christians and Muslims in the area.
This attack is the latest in a disturbing trend of religiously motivated violence against Christians in Katsina. In 2023, Fulani terrorists attacked the Global Mission Church in Gidan Haruna village during Sunday service.
“Two armed militants rode on each of at least eight motorcycles and encircled the church. They shouted “Allahu Akbar” while firing their weapons. They blocked the entrances and forced everyone to lie on the floor. Twenty-eight Christians were taken hostage. Twenty-six of them were women while two were babies.
“The Christians were held in the forest. The terrorists demanded a ransom of fifty million naira. In desperation, the Christian villagers sold their food stores and raised eight hundred thousand naira. The gunmen were enraged and launched another attack in February. Four more people were kidnapped. They were later released after the militants found out they were Muslims.”
