Pastor Egla was abducted at his residence in Shabu community on the outskirts of Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State in North Central Nigeria
The Nasarawa State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of a cleric, John Egla, who was identified as a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Lafia.
The spokesperson of the command, Nansel Ramhan, confirmed the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lafia
Nigeria ranks 12th on Open Doors 2019 World Watch list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
Mr Ramhan said that Mr Egla was abducted at his residence in Shabu community on the outskirts of Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State in North Central Nigeria.
The spokesperson said the divisional police officer of the Shabu Police Division reported hearing sporadic gunshots at about 1:16 a.m. on Wednesday.
He explained that on reaching the location, the police team discovered that the gunmen had abducted the pastor, who was with his family.
Mr Ramhan said the police found six empty shells of AK 47 ammunition at the scene of the abduction and that the police had deployed a team to rescue Egla .
A Senior Pastor with the RCCG, Falaye Omoniyi, who corroborated the incident, said that Mr Egla was the pastor in charge of the Oasis of Life Parish of the church’s Nasarawa Province 2.
Mr Omoniyi said the wife and members of the abducted pastor’s family had been traumatized by the incident, although nobody was hurt during the operation.
He appealed to security operatives to expedite action to rescue the pastor.
This is coming amid rising Christian persecution in the northern part of Nigeria, and it’s the latest in the wave of killing and abductions of Christian clerics in the country also.
Recall that Five RCCG pastors were also recently abducted along the Ijebu-Ode axis, Ogun State. on their way to the annual Holy Ghost Convention. According to police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, about 10 hoodlums, intercepted the commercial bus marked KW 230 XA in which the kidnapped victims were travelling from Abia State to Lagos on Thursday, August 1, for the RCCG 2019 ministers’ conference, which always precedes the annual Convention of the church.
