Mercy Simon and daughter after Nov. 9, 2025 abduction in Borno state, Nigeria. (Facebook)
ABUJA, Nigeria (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Receiving a large ransom demand last month, a pastor in northeastern Nigeria learned that his wife and daughter, missing since November 2025, were kidnapped by Islamic terrorists, sources said.
Mercy Simon and toddler daughter Talita Simon were kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram rebels while traveling to Maiduguri, Borno state on the Buratai-Biu-Bunu Yadi road for her brother’s wedding on Nov. 9, said her husband, identifying himself only as Pastor Simon.
“She was the only person picked out from a vehicle they were traveling in because she is a Christian,” he told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “And since the time she was kidnapped, I didn’t know what happened to her until September 2026, about a month ago, when her captors contacted me through WhatsApp to demand for a ransom of 50 million naira [$37,200] before they can release her.”
When he pleaded with them that he didn’t have such a large amount, they reduced the demand to 15 million naira ($11,160), he said, adding, “But after days of silence and waiting, they finally requested for 12 million naira [$8,927].”
Pastor Simon, from Chinene village in Gwoza County, had served in churches in the Chibok and Bama areas of Borno state, but Boko Haram attacks in the region forced him out of ministry, he said, adding that he has taken refuge in Mubi, Adamawa state.
He said the terrorists are holding 70 other Christians, and that five other Christians were released from captivity on Oct. 19 after their families paid ransoms.
Pastor Simon said he was traumatized, adding, “Things have not been easy for me since my wife and daughter were kidnapped. I am left to care for three children in her absence.”
“I’m pleading with the Nigerian president and those in authority to help secure the release of my wife and daughter. She is not the only person being held captive, as there are about 70 other Christians who are being held captive by their captors.”
Pastor Simon said he and other families of kidnapped Christians contacted Sen. Ali Ndume of the National Assembly, “but we have not heard from the authorities. We’ll not relent in our prayers and pleas for help for our family members in captivity.”
A council official from the area, Barka Iliyasu, confirmed the kidnapping to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
“Mrs. Mercy Simon and her daughter Talita, were kidnapped along the Buratai-Biu-Bunu Yadi-Damaturu road on 9th November 2025, and are still in captivity,” Iliyasu said. “The terrorists have reduced their demand from N50 million to N12 million, a sum the poor family still cannot afford.”
It is the primary responsibility of the government as enshrined in the Constitution to ensure the security and welfare of the people, he said.
“The silence of the government on these issues is deafening and painful,” Iliyasu said. “We cannot abandon them to their fate.”
Pastor Simon said he believes his wife and daughter are still alive.
“From the pictures you can see that the only dress she wore about a year ago is what she’s still wearing,” he said.
Area residents have also called on the government to take action.
“Her husband and family have not been able to raise the ransom,” Chawai Friday told other area residents. “The husband confirmed that Mercy and her daughter are still alive. And the daughter is reportedly not in good health. Let us pray that God will protect Mercy and her daughter, strengthen them in captivity, and open a way for their safe and immediate release.”
More Christians were killed in Nigeria than in any other country from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025, according to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List. Of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during that period, 3,490 – 72 percent – were Nigerians, an increase from 3,100 the prior year.
Nigeria ranked No. 7 on the WWL list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram, which seeks to impose sharia (Islamic law) throughout Nigeria, and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are active in the country’s northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years.
The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali.
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The post Official Help Sought to Recover Pastor’s Wife, Daughter in Nigeria appeared first on Morningstar News.
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