A female assistant pastor in Nigeria was hacked to death while preaching in early July, one of many attacks against Christians in the country in recent months.
But Eunice Elisha’s husband Olawale, also a pastor, has said that her attackers should be forgiven, whether or not they are caught. He said: ‘My prayer is that if they can accept Christ it will be a gain for Christ.’
Mother of seven
Eunice, a 42-year-old mother of seven, was murdered early on a Saturday morning after she had gone out to preach in the Kubwa region in Nigeria.
Her husband told local media that two of his sons were at football practice when they heard that a woman was killed while preaching. Mr Elisha said: ‘I told my children that it couldn’t be their mother, but they insisted we should go there and check’.
A police officer confirmed that a killing had taken place and that the body had been taken to a police station in Kubwa.
When Mr Elisha arrived at the police station, he saw his wife’s body in the back of a police van. ‘At this point, my children and I burst into tears.’
Zealous Christian
He described his wife as a zealous Christian who ‘was committed to anything that was of God’. Mr Elisha also told media: ‘I see her as a martyr who died for Christ.’
Nigeria’s churches have warned Christians to be ‘ready to defend themselves’ against deadly violence because the government are not coming to their aid.
Father of seven
In June, in the central state of Nasarawa, the Revd Joseph Kurah, father of seven, was ambushed by two armed men after he arrived at his farm. His severely mutilated body was later recovered from the scene.
In Kaduna state, Francis Emmanuel, a 41-year-old carpenter, was waiting for food when a gang of six Muslim youths stabbed him. It was Ramadan, and he was not fasting. In Kano, in northern Nigeria, a 74year-old pastor’s wife was ambushed by a mob for allegedly blaspheming against Islam’s prophet.
Targeting Christians
In June, at least 81 people were killed in attacks by ethnic Fulani in Logo and Ukum areas of Benue state in central Nigeria.
Incidents targeting Christians are the result of growing intolerance and radicalism among Nigerian society, said Atta Barkindo, a researcher and doctoral candidate at the London School of Oriental and African Studies.
