By William Stark
Nigeria continues to own the shameful title of being the deadliest place to be a Christian. In 2012, 70 percent of Christians murdered due to persecution were killed in Nigeria. This deadly fact is characterized by the brutal murder of Rev. Faye Pama Musa who was followed home by suspected Boko Haram militants and shot. News of the murder spread hours after Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three of Nigeria’s northern states most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Christian Leader in Northern Nigeria Gunned Down
After finishing his evening Bible study at his church on May 15 in Borno state’s capital, Maiduguri, Rev. Faye Pama, the Secretary of the Borno state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), began traveling home for the night. According to Rev. Titus Dama Pona, the chairman of CAN’s Borno chapter, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram militants followed the pastor home.
After the pastor entered his house, the gunmen climbed over the pastor’s fence and broke in. The gunmen then dragged the pastor out of his home and shot him outside. According to a report by Morning Star News, Rev. Faye Pama was executed in front of his daughter, who followed the assailants outside, begging for her father’s life.
Rev. Faye Pama was likely targeted by the militants attached to the Islamic extremist group because of his outspoken criticism of Boko Haram’s targeting of Christians and the discrimination against Christians in northern Nigeria. In a 2007 interview, the pastor said that he would not leave Borno state even though the state was a safe haven for extremists who posed a danger to both his life and his ministry. “Being [an officer in CAN] and being so vocal, he must have been a marked man,” Mark Lipdo, Director of the Stefanos Foundation, observed in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network.
