By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) - Suspected Islamic Fulani herdsmen have killed a Pentecostal pastor in Nigeria’s restive Niger Delta oil hub, Christian rights activists confirmed Thursday.
Amos Arijesuyo, who also worked at a university, traveled from Ibadan to Akure in Nigeria’s Ondo state with four others when they were reportedly ambushed.
The driver and pastor Arijesuyo “were shot by the assailants” on January 16, said advocacy and aid group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC).
They were “requiring urgent medical attention in the hospital where the pastor succumbed to his injuries,” added VOMC, citing several sources. The driver was recovering from a shot to his arm, Christians said.
The Federal University of Technology Akure, where the pastor was deputy registrar and head of the guidance and counseling, expressed shock about his death.
UNIVERSITY MOURNS
In published remarks, the university in Ondo’s capital Akure called the murder a "senseless act." A university spokesperson said, “Our prayers and thoughts are with the wife, children, and family members of our departed colleague at this difficult period of unquantifiable grief."
And a member of the Christ Apostolic Church where Arijesuyo was pastoring reportedly described him as "born intelligent and a passionate man of the Word [of God].”
The murder comes amid broader concerns about Islamic extremists targeting Christians in several parts of Nigeria’s Niger Delta and other regions.
More Christians were killed for their faith in Nigeria my Islamic extremists during the past year than any other country globally, added advocacy group Open Doors.
Nigeria is second only to Pakistan in overall violence and trails China in the number of churches attacked or closed, according to its annual 2021 World Watch List report about persecution.
PRAYERS URGED
VOMC told Worthy News that it had asked supporters to remember the pastor’s “wife and children in your prayers as they grieve the sudden death of their loved one.”
It was also crucial to “Pray for his church congregation, colleagues and students who are also trying to cope with this loss,” the group added.
“May those responsible for the attack be brought to justice and come to a point of repentance before God and their fellow Nigerians.”
VOMC urged Christians to “ask the Lord to help governing authorities find ways to stifle the violence from being continually perpetuated throughout the country.”