by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – As Islamic jihadists continue a relentless campaign of murder, abductions, and displacement against Christians in northern Nigeria, communities of local believers are joining together to pray and to support one another, including with finances to pay extortionate ransoms for kidnapped loved ones, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
“Islamic Fulani extremists and other groups are increasingly abducting Christians and demanding significant ransoms, putting immense pressure on families and local communities,” ICC said in its report. “In response, Christians are raising awareness of the abductions in Kaduna and Niger states and mobilizing assistance for those affected,” ICC said.
Citing an example that illustrates the desperate situation, ICC reports that the family of Emmanuel Nyasom, Jr., 54, is seeking help after kidnappers increased their ransom demand to 90 million Naira (about $53,000). A father of eight children, Nyasom was kidnapped from his farm near Kontagora in Niger state on October 31.
Nigeria ranks number one in the world for the number of Christians murdered and/or kidnapped on account of their faith. More Christians are murdered in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization reports.
In a current website statement about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, Open Doors reports: “Christians in Nigeria, particularly in the Muslim-majority north, continue to live under immense pressure and to be terrorized with devastating impunity by Islamic militants and armed ‘bandits.’The attacks are often brutal in nature and can involve destruction of properties, abductions for ransom, sexual violence and death.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Anxiety remained among religious Jews observing the Shabbat in Melbourne after an arsonist set fire to the door of a synagogue, forcing worshipers to flee, while elsewhere in the Australian city, protesters stormed an Israeli restaurant.
A troubling trend is emerging across the United States: increasing acts of hostility, vandalism, and violence against Christian churches. From arson to bomb threats, these incidents reflect what some are calling a spiritual crisis and a growing cultural hostility toward Christianity.
A sudden and violent flash flood in the Texas Hill Country has left at least 24 people dead and dozens more missing–many of them young girls attending Camp Mystic, a beloved Christian summer camp–after relentless storms swelled the Guadalupe River early Friday morning, washing away cabins, homes, and vehicles in its path.
In a dramatic Independence Day spectacle at the White House, President Donald Trump signed into law the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping legislative package that delivers on a wide array of his second-term promises and reshapes major sectors of the U.S. economy, tax system, and welfare programs.
Preparations are underway to establish a European Union-led alternative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as part of a new global marketplace that would challenge America’s economic clout.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Friday that he spoke with U.S. President Donald J. Trump about the need to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense hours after Kyiv experienced its heaviest Russian air strikes since the outbreak of the war more than three years ago.
Britain has unveiled a controversial plan that will, in many cases, replace human doctors with Artificial Intelligence (AI).