Urgent prayer needed for kidnapped pastor and wife from Cameroon

Your urgent prayers are needed for a couple who have reportedly been kidnapped from their home in Cameroon. 

Cameroon is number 45 on the World Watch List; Christians are vulnerable to persecution from extremists, separatist groups and even locals and family members

A pastor and his wife have reportedly been taken from their home in the town of Fotokol in the Far North region of Cameroon. 

Pastor Paul Moussa – who is in his 60s and leads two churches that are part of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) network – disappeared, along with his wife, Ines, on 15 March.  

According to Open Doors local partners, the missing couple is known to wake up early to travel to neighbouring Nigeria. When their daughter returned from school and noticed they had not yet returned home, she informed her brother, who discovered documents scattered on the floor. Neighbours also noticed the doors to the family’s compound were left open on the morning of the couple’s disappearance, which was unusual. The incident has been reported to the police.

Kidnaps common in area

There has since been no news about the couple’s whereabouts. Pastor Moussa’s phone is turned off, and as yet, no one has claimed responsibility nor has a ransom demand been received. “We still do not know where exactly he is,” said a local partner. “And if they ask for ransom, only the authorities will know,” another source explained.

Locals share that such incidents are common in Fotokol, and ransom demands usually follow. “Since February this year, there have been almost 50 people kidnapped in the Darak and Hile Alifa zones, mostly fishermen, with demands for ransom,” a local resident explained. In February 2022, five workers of from Medecins Sans Frontier (MSF) were kidnapped in Fotokol.

In an official press release, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has also called on the church in Nigeria to pray for Pastor Moussa and his wife. “We use this medium to request each and every church to specially pray that God will set the captives free,” they said. 

Cameroon is number 45 on the World Watch List. Islamic extremism has spilled over from Nigeria into the north, whilst the ongoing Anglophone crisis – a civil war that’s been fought since 2017 – has preoccupied security forces and made leaders who speak out against violence a target for separatist groups and the government.