MADAGALI, Nigeria (LifeSiteNews) — A Nigerian priest has appeared in a video posted on LifeSiteNews where he discusses the dire situation that Christians are facing in the North East of Nigeria, where Islamist terror organization Boko Haram regularly carries out attacks against Christians.
Father Innocent Sunu is a priest who, immediately after being ordained, willingly went to one of the most dangerous places in the world to serve the faithful.
Madagali, the town where Sunu serves as parish priest, is located on the edge of the “infamous Sambisa Forest” from where Boko Haram frequently carries out mass killings and mass abductions of Christians in neighboring towns and villages. Sunu had the right to refuse such a dangerous assignment, but he chose not to, in part because he had waited for so long to become a priest.
Sunu was ordained in November 2017, less than a year after two female suicide bombers detonated themselves in Madagali, killing 57 people and injuring over a hundred more. In addition, four previous Catholic pastors had been murdered in the town before that, and Sunu was the first priest to go to the parish in five years.
“I work in a place where the light of the Gospel has met the darkness of hell” he explains in the video before ending on a note of hope: “… the darkness has not overcome it.”
In 2014, the world was horrified when Boko Haram militants kidnapped 276 teenaged schoolgirls, mostly Christian, from their school in Chibok, a town just over a 3-hour drive from Madagali.
Nigeria is one of the many places in the world where hundreds of Christians are being killed and persecuted daily for their faith. This fact is but rarely reported by mainstream media organizations, leaving heroic priests like Sunu with the vital task of making the extent of the situation known to the world.
“Every day, we priests around here bury innocent Christians,” Sunu explains in the video while describing in detail the plight of the Christians of Madagali.
“They are being killed and slain because of their Faith” he continues, adding that one of his missions is to look after the widows and orphans left in the wake of Boko Haram’s regular attacks.
“Our parish of Madagali looks after hundreds of widows and children who have lost their fathers to the Islamist terrorists.”
Every day gun shots ring around the town as more innocent Christians are martyred, and more widows and orphans are created for Fr. Innocent to care for.
In spite of this, the heroic priest remains hopeful and also grateful for the help given, and the donations that so many have made to this cause so far.
“Today I want to tell you, especially the readers of LifeSiteNews, that there is hope for the people of Madagali,” he says, before stressing how vital donations are for the life of his parishioners.
“With your contributions and your donations at LifeFunder.com, we are able to bring succor and comfort to the people,” he states.
“What you do for us is tremendous. What you do for us is unbelievable. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you!”
In the video, Sunu also gives details about how every single contribution can make a difference in the life of his people, as more and more needs are met with every new donation:
“Some of these people are smiling thanks to you” he assures LifeSiteNews readers before encouraging donors to persevere in their generosity.
“Continue what you are doing. Do not stop!”
LifeSiteNews readers who are interested in making a donation for this cause can do so here.