Sardauna Anaruwa Sashi, once a devout Muslim, became a faithful follower of Christ earlier this year. Having learned of his conversion the police apprehended him on September 21. According to an October 31 report by Compass Direct, during four days of detention, the thirty year old resident of Paiko was severely tortured. He claims that at one point police beat him with their batons and almost killed him. It was only through the intervention of his pastor and a lawyer from his church that he was released.
He is no longer allowed to care for the cattle of the Muslims he was working for since he has become an "infidel" in their eyes. Besides the loss of income he faces, Sashi's pastor has said that the Muslims will also never abandon their resolve to kill him. Sashi has reportedly received death threats since his release. While he fears for his life and the lives of his wife and relatives that have also turned to Christ, he testifies that he will never recant.
Paiko is located in Niger state, one of Nigeria's northern states where sharia has been imposed.
(Source: Compass Direct)
On September 2, a 22-year-old Catholic woman, Ribqa Masih, from the village of Chak 86 was kidnapped, drugged and repeatedly raped over a period of several days. She was told that if she did not convert to Islam, she and her family would be killed. Two men have been implicated in the crime. On October 24, one of the suspects, Muhammad Kashif, was denied bail in a courtroom in Faisalabad. He immediately fled the courthouse. According to an October 28 report by Compass Direct, eyewitnesses said that the six police who were standing guard at building did nothing to stop him. Despite what appears to be police cooperation with the suspects, the Masih family and their lawyer are determined to seek justice for Ribqa.