Those who gathered at the National Christian Center, Abuja yesterday, venue of the press conference organized by the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans (CANAN), were in shock, listening to the ugly experiences by some Christians in the hands of Boko Haram members.
Former minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, a trustee of the organization, who shed tears after listening to their stories, told journalists that: “You almost feel a sense of abandonment for them, almost like they are invincible to the rest of us and that worries me.
“We must get ourselves back to a drawing table and figure out who we really are, what are we, what have we become as a people and as a nation.”
Narrating his ordeal, Mr. Habila Adamu, a native of Potiskum Local Government Area, Yobe said on November 28, 2012, gunmen came to his house around 11:00p.m. and met him with his family.
“They ordered me to come out with my family and when I came out with my family, they ordered my family to go back, asked me to come out so that they can come in. My wife tried to beg them and they said she should go back, that they were here to do the work of Allah.
“When I heard that, I knew that they were there to kill me. My wife brought money to them, they collected the money and they collected all our handsets. They also collected the key to the door, opened the door and two more people came inside, making them four inside my house with AK47.
“They asked for my name and I told them Habila Adamu. When I told them Habila Adamu, they asked if I am a member of the Nigeria Police, I said no. You are a Nigerian soldier? I said no. You are a member of the State Security Service (SSS), I said no. Are you a parliamentarian? I said no.
“They asked me if I mean we Christians know God and I told them that I know God. We know God and that is why we are preaching the good news to them and other people that do not know God.
“They then asked me: Habila, are you ready to die as a Christian? I told them I am ready to die as a Christian. For the second time, they asked me: are you ready to die as a Christian? I told them I am ready.
“Before I closed my mouth, they have fired me through my nose as you can see (showing the scars to this reporter). From my nose, the entering point, the bullet came out through the back (also pointing at the back of his head). “I fell down on the ground since 11:00p.m. and I was there till 7:00a.m. in the morning, bleeding. They thought I was already dead because they matched me two times and discovered I was dead,” Adamu narrated.
Speaking further, Adamu said in the midst of the wailing by his wife and other people, who believed he was dead, he told his wife that he was still alive, demanding that she called for assistance so that people could help him. “My face was swollen, my eyes were red. Before morning, I could not see anything. My eyes closed and my wife cried. While crying, she said many things. She said: let God give her the heart that she can stand to the end like what I did. Let God give my children the heart that they may stand in their faith.
“When she continued saying all these things, I told her that I am alive. I asked her to look for help. And when she went out, she found out that our neighbours have been killed.
“For example, we have one elder, himself and his son were killed that night, including others,” Adamu further narrated. A staffer of Yobe Broadcasting Corporation, Adamu said he deceived his assailants that he was a businessman, adding that if he had told them that he is a journalist, they would have slaughtered him like a ram. He expressed appreciation to the Voice of Christian Martyrs for their support in standing by him. “They paid for my operation, they paid for my housing, they paid for my feeding. I thank the Voice of Christian Martyrs. Let God bless them abundantly,” he prayed.
Jesus! And am here complaining bout daily bread when some peeps are being matyred for Christ. Please God, let me thank you for everything and preach your gospel to your people while I still have breath in me, amen.
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