The body of a Nigerian pastor has been found by a search party. He had been ‘macheted to death.’
Unknown assailants in Nigeria’s Kaduna State “macheted to death” a pastor from the Evangelical Church of Winning All. Its the latest episode in a troubling trend of deadly attacks on Christians in the African nation.
The slain pastor has been identified as the Rev. Silas Ali of ECWA. Rev Silas had left his home on Saturday on his way to meetings.
Ali was apparently attacked around Kibori community, where a search party discovered his body.
Kaduna State’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the pastor’s murder, saying security agencies had started an investigation.
While the assailants have not been identified, thousands of Christians have been killed in Nigeria and surrounding areas by radicalized Fulani herders in the farming-rich middle belt of Nigeria and by Islamic extremists in the country’s northeast.
In July, a civil society group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law released a report estimating that at least 3,462 Christians had been killed and at least 3,000 Christians had been abducted in just 200 days. The report also estimates that no fewer than 300 churches and 10 pastors had been attacked.
The Global Terrorism Index ranks Nigeria as the third country most affected by terrorism in the world.