Christians already fed up with the violence in Nigeria's Borno State have been further shocked by the murder of an evangelist. The murder was carried out by extremist group Boko Haram less than three months after it killed a pastor in Maiduguri. The murdered evangelist, Mark Ojunta, was 36 years old and came from southern Nigeria. He served among people from the Kotoko tribe in Borno and was sent by the Calvary Ministries (CAPRO) mission. He was shot dead on August 27 in Maiduguri.
In a press release, CAPRO's international head Amos Aderonmu said Ojunta died "as a martyr on his mission field among the Kotoko." CAPRO had found out that all their employees among Shuwa Arabs, Kotoko and Kanuri were on Boko Haram's death list. Therefore, according to Aderonmu, CAPRO had evacuated them from the area. Ojunta had returned to teach after his family was evacuated. In his press release, Aderonmu said that four days before he died, Ojunta had received an invitation to leave his work among the Kotoko for a position in CAPRO's international office in London. He had declined.
Ojunta is survived by his wife, Ema, and two children, 3-year-old Kambe and 9-month-old Akira, in addition to his parents and sisters. The killing came less than three months after the June 7 murder of 45-year-old Church of Christ in Nigeria pastor David Usman and church secretary Hamman Andrew, who were shot dead by Boko Haram members in Maiduguri.
