A parish priest Father Bako Francis Awesuh, 37, has described how members of his parish were shot dead in cold blood in a report Friday.
“Oh, what sorrow to have watched three of my parishioners shot dead in cold blood, right before my eyes — and I couldn’t do anything,” he said with tears.
“I couldn’t pray because of the shock I was in. Whenever I opened my mouth to pray, words failed me. All I could say was ‘Lord, have mercy.’”
ACN’s report, titled “Nigeria: A Bleeding Wound,” shares some of the firsthand testimonies of Catholic faithful who have survived torture, kidnappings, and massacres at the hands of Nigerian terrorists.
In May 2021, Awesuh and 10 of his parishioners were kidnapped from St. John Paul II Parish in Kaduna state by radical terrorists.
Awesuh was alone in his room at 11 p.m. when he heard gunshots. Terrified, he turned out the lights and waited.
“I stood there confused, not knowing what to do, as I felt completely lost. There was a knock on the door. My legs went cold and my body stiff. I was sweating profusely,” Awesuh said. “They broke down the door and forced themselves inside. One of the men pushed me to the floor, tied me up, and flogged me mercilessly.”
Awesuh and his parishioners were marched barefoot through the wilderness for three days. They were then held captive in harsh conditions for more than a month until a large ransom could be paid.
Eventually, Awesuh and his parishioners were ransomed, but not before three parishioners were shot dead during a rescue attempt.
“I narrowly escaped death,” Awesuh said. Yet, he said, there are many priests there who have not been as fortunate.
“I know of so many priests kidnapped before and after me who were killed even after a ransom was paid,” Awesuh said.
Maryamu Joseph, 16, also shared her story with ACN after only two months since escaping captivity.
She was only 7 years old when Boko Haram attacked her village, called Bazza, taking her captive for nine years.
“Words cannot do justice to what I’ve gone through,” Joseph told ACN. “They murdered without remorse, like it’s a normal thing to do.”
“Right before my eyes, they took one of my siblings and killed him. They cut off his head, then his hands, legs, and stomach … I was devastated. I asked myself, ‘Who’s next?’”
According to Joseph, the Christians of her village faced particularly cruel treatment.
“They put the Christians in cages, like animals. The first thing they did was forcefully convert us to Islam. They changed my name to Aisha, a Muslim name, and warned us not to pray as Christians or we would be killed,” Joseph said.
Janada Marcus, 22, was forced to flee Boko Haram with her family twice before the terrorists attacked them again in the city of Maiduguri. In this attack, Janada’s father was told to either rape her or be killed.
“With a machete pointed at my father’s forehead, he looked at my mother and at me, but I avoided eye contact because I was ashamed to look him in the face, ashamed of what the men had suggested — it was an abomination!” Marcus told ACN. “My father put his head down in submission to be killed and answered: ‘I cannot sleep with my own flesh and blood, my own daughter, I would rather die than commit this abomination.’”
Her father was beheaded, and Marcus continued to suffer at the hands of the Islamic terrorists.
“They took me to the bush and tortured me severely, emotionally, physically and mentally for six days. I suffered a lot of terrible and wicked experiences — beyond explanation — that made those six days seem like six years,” Marcus said.
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