by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Seven suspected Islamic terrorists broke into the home of a pastor in Bauchi state, Nigeria, and shot a relative staying there when they found the church leader was not there, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Police officials have confirmed that on September 16, in the Birshi area of the city of Bauchi, seven gunmen attacked the home of Pastor Zakka Luka Magaji and shot a Christian relative who was staying with him, MSN reports.
“A 32-year-old man who is a member of Christian Life Church living with Pastor Zakka was injured in the process,” Ahmed Wakil, spokesman for the Bauchi State Police Command, said in a statement.
“The police personnel who were there on a rescue mission immediately took the injured victim and rushed him to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, for treatment of gunshot wounds,” Wakil said.
“Seven terrorists invaded my house and attacked me and my family,” Pastor Magaji told MSN.
“I was their target even though I don’t know their motives. The injured relation staying with me who was shot during the attack is getting better now.”
In a statement, Rev. Abraham Damina Dimeus of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bauchi State Chapter, said the attack on Pastor Magaji is just one attack amid a years-long wave of terror against Christians. “The government must do everything possible to protect Nigerians from such attacks by terrorists, as life is sacred and must be protected at all costs,” Dimeus said.
Nigeria ranked number one in the world last year for the number of Christians murdered by Islamic terrorists: 4,650, up from 3,530 in 2020, according to Open Doors.