According to Rev. Joseph John Hayab, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna State, Rev. Dauda was kidnapped on his farm on November 8^th. The abductors demanded a ransom payment, which Rev. Dauda’s wife raised and delivered herself.

“When some money was raised, they asked the wife to bring the money which she took to them on November 18,” an unnamed source told the Nigerian Daily Post. “They collected the money and kidnapped her.”

“They kept her until December 6th and released her to go and look for more money.” The gunmen decided to kill Reverend Dauda just days later.

According to a report released in August by Intersociety, Islamic radicals in Nigeria have abducted over 18,500 people in the last 12 years. Christian leaders are often targeted in these attacks.

Despite all of these abductions and killings of Christian leaders, the Nigerian government and much of the international community continue to say that there is no religious basis for the violence taking place in Nigeria. The U.S. Department of State’s blindness in this area was clearly seen last month when they removed Nigeria from the list of “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)”, which includes countries that have engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

Source: persecution.org