We ask for urgent prayers for Nigerian pastor Paul Musa and his wife Ruth, who were abducted on March 14 by the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram from their home in northern Borno state.

In a video posted online by the kidnappers on May 5, Pastor Paul calls on the government and the Christian Association of Nigeria for help in securing their release.

He says other Muslims kidnapped around the same time were released and resettled in their communities. “And yet we were forgotten. Why?” – asks Pastor Paweł. “Why doesn’t the government care about us? Is it because we are Christians?”

The 59-year-old pastor emphasizes that he and his 50-year-old wife have been serving the church for 29 years. “Today we are not physically healthy,” he says in the recording. “Me and my wife are here. We need your help.”

Churches and Christian communities in Nigeria’s northern and central belt are often targeted. Islamists are estimated to have killed around 45,000 believers since 2009, with most of the killings occurring in both regions. Many hundreds of thousands have been displaced.