CP | Samuel Smith | January 21, 2020
A pastor who made headlines earlier this month for praising God in a ransom video has been executed by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria.
International human rights activists have condemned the killing of Rev. Lawan Andimi, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria’s chapter in the Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
Andimi was declared missing on Jan. 3 following a raid by the Islamic extremist group in Michika. Video posted online appears to show Andimi being forced into a vehicle by his captors.
Days later, Andimi was seen in a video released by his captors calling on fellow Christian leaders and state government officials to secure his release.
Despite the situation, Andimi said in the video that he was not discouraged because “all conditions that one finds himself is in the hand of God.”
“By the grace of God, I will be together with my wife and my children and all my colleagues,” he said. “If the opportunity has not been granted, maybe it is the will of God.”
On Monday, local sources disclosed to ministry partners in the United States that Andimi was murdered.
A source told the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization Save the Persecuted Christians that Andimi’s family was notified about the pastor’s death by the CAN office in the Adamawa state on Monday.
“They have slaughtered him in Sambisa forest,” a source told Save the Persecuted Christians, according to the nonprofit’s Executive Director Dede Laugesen. “They murdered him because he refused to renounce his faith. And because they couldn’t raise the money for his ransom.”
The local source, whose name could not be revealed for security reasons, told Save the Persecuted Christians that Andimi’s captors demanded 2 million euros in exchange for his release. However, the underserved church community was only able to raise 2 million nairas (4,969.88 euros).