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Pastor and Family Survive Attack by Muslim Gunmen in Nigeria

  • Religion Today Religious persecution, missions, Christianity around the world
  • Published Aug 28, 2012

A pastor and his family are safe and recovering after surviving an attack by Muslim gunmen on August 10, Mission Network News reports. According to Voice of the Martyrs, at least seven gunmen entered a church compound in Borno state, intending to kill the pastor, his wife and three children. One gunman entered the room of the pastor's 24-year-old son, but "God gave him the courage and strength to push the man down," according to VOM sources. The young man was shot in the leg and fell to the ground as he fled his attacker. The pastor ran from the house when he heard the gunshots and also fell to the ground when the gunmen began firing at him, though he was not hit. Thinking both men were either dead or injured, the gunmen entered the house, where they ordered the pastor's wife and two other children to lie down on the floor while they set fire to the house and church. Unbeknownst to the gunmen, the woman and her children escaped, and the attackers left the scene while firing into the air and shouting "Allahu akbar [Allah is greater]!" As they left, they unknowingly passed right by the entire family hiding in bushes near the church. The family remained in hiding through the night and took the oldest son to a hospital the next morning. He has since been released, and the family is staying with another pastor in Maiduguri.