Gunmen suspected to be bandits have demanded a ransom of ₦100 million for the release of Pastor Samson Ndah Ali, a 30-year-old cleric with the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Mararaba Aboro, Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Pastor Ali was reportedly abducted from his residence in the early hours of Tuesday, April 8, 2025. According to the financial secretary of the church, Mallam Yusuf Ambi, he had spent time with the pastor the night before and was shocked to receive a distress call the following morning.
“I rushed to his compound where he lives alone, only to find the doors wide open. I checked all the rooms, but he was nowhere to be found,” Ambi said in an interview with Daily Trust.
He confirmed that the abductors later made contact and demanded ₦100 million for the pastor’s release. “We are negotiating with them,” he added.
Ambi also revealed that Pastor Ali, a native of Danji community in Ungwan Mailafiya, had been assigned to the Mararaba Aboro branch of the church less than two weeks before the abduction.
In response to the incident, a joint security operation involving the Nigerian Army, the police, and the Department of State Services (DSS) has been launched to secure the pastor’s release.
