Latest: Pastor's Wife and Daughter Held in Nigeria After Boko Haram Kidnapping Ransom Threat

For almost a year, Pastor Simon Yohanna did not know if his wife and little daughter were alive. Then, in September 2026, a message arrived on WhatsApp, and with it a demand for money he does not have.

Mercy Simon and her toddler daughter Talita Simon were travelling to Maiduguri, in Borno State, for her brother's wedding on November 9, 2025, when they were taken on the Buratai-Biu-Bunu Yadi road, according to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. Her husband, who identifies himself only as Pastor Simon, told the outlet that Mercy was the only person picked out from the vehicle they were travelling in because she is a Christian.

That claim is Pastor Simon's account, reported by Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. The kidnapping itself was confirmed to the same outlet by Barka Iliyasu, a council official from the area, who said Mercy and Talita were kidnapped on November 9, 2025, and are still in captivity.

Pastor Simon said he heard nothing about what had happened to them until about a month before the October report, when the captors contacted him through WhatsApp. The first demand, reports say, was for 50 million naira. Reports give different dollar equivalents for that sum, so this article uses the naira figure that all the reports agree on.

The Ransom Demand Pastor Simon Says He Cannot Pay

When Pastor Simon pleaded that he did not have that amount, the demand came down, according to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. It was first reduced to 15 million naira, he said, and after days of silence and waiting, the captors finally requested 12 million naira.

Iliyasu confirmed that reduction, saying the demand had fallen from 50 million naira to 12 million naira, a sum the family still cannot afford. International Christian Concern, reporting on October 30, 2026, noted that the differing accounts of the current demand have not been independently reconciled, and readers should hold that uncertainty with the facts.

What is not in doubt in the reporting is the size of the gap between the demand and the family's means. Pastor Simon now lives in Mubi, in Adamawa State, caring for three other children, after attacks in the region forced him out of ministry in the Chibok and Bama areas of Borno State. He told Truth Nigeria that he barely eats, and that finding even a daily meal is a struggle.

They told me to count her days, that if I cannot bring 50 million Naira, her head will be cut off. I am a homeless refugee who barely eats, but the jihadists have no mercy.

That is Pastor Simon speaking to Truth Nigeria, in his own words, about the threat he says he received. Truth Nigeria and International Christian Concern both report that the captors have also threatened to sell his young daughter Talita into slavery if the ransom is not paid. This article reports those threats as claims made by the pastor about what his captors said, not as verified facts about what will happen.

A Photograph, a Voice, and a Plea for Help

Pastor Simon said he was allowed to hear his wife's voice briefly during a recent phone call, according to International Christian Concern, and received a photograph that he believes confirms she is alive. Christian Daily International-Morning Star News reports that he believes his wife and daughter are still alive, and quotes him saying that the only dress Mercy wore about a year ago is what she is still wearing in the pictures.

A resident quoted by the same outlet said Talita is reportedly not in good health, and asked for prayer for God's protection for Mercy and her daughter and for a safe and immediate release. That health claim comes from that resident's account and has not been independently verified, and it is presented here only as reported.

Pastor Simon has also said the same militants are holding about 70 other Christians, and that five other Christians were released on October 19 after their families paid ransoms. Those figures come from his account and have not been independently verified, International Christian Concern notes. His plea, as reported, is directed at the Nigerian president and those in authority, asking for help to secure the release of his wife and daughter.

He said he and other families of kidnapped Christians contacted Senator Ali Ndume of the National Assembly, but have not heard from the authorities. Iliyasu put it more sharply, telling Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that the silence of the government on these issues is deafening and painful, and that the families cannot be abandoned to their fate.

The wider picture behind one family's wait is grim, and it is measured in numbers that need their sources named. Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, citing Open Doors' 2026 World Watch List, reports that more Christians were killed in Nigeria than in any other country from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, with 3,490 of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during that period being Nigerians. Nigeria ranked seventh on that list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Readers following Christians under pressure in Nigeria can also read the Uganda court sentences for the killing of two evangelists, the report of 7,500 Christians killed across Africa in 2026, and the killing of Christian Red Cross worker Lydia Nwankwo in Sokoto. A seperate strand of the same story is northern Christian leaders demanding an end to killings in Nigeria.

For now, a father in Mubi waits for a phone to ring again, for a voice he recognises, and for an answer about whether help will reach his family before the next demand arrives. What happens next for Mercy and Talita may depend on who hears his plea, and on whether anyone with the power to act decides that this one family, held for almost a year, cannot wait any longer.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.