'Most endangered Christians on the planet': Pastor, NGOs deliver $400K in medical supplies to Nigeria
Seeing a quadriplegic woman crying while being carried out of a hospital and placed on an electric scooter donated among thousands of other medical items by a collective of nonprofits to medical facilities in the Plateau state of Nigeria brought tears to the eyes of longtime civil rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe.
"It felt like that moment when those guys cut through the roof and lowered their friend down to Jesus to be healed," Ogebe told The Christian Post about the fulfillment of the massive medical donation that was months in the making and had several obstacles to overcome.
"It brought tears to our eyes, and the lady herself was crying. You could see she was just so overwhelmed."
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Ogebe has worked for decades to provide humanitarian relief to Nigeria but has faced difficulties in the last decade amid escalating violence that advocates say has led to more Christians being killed in Nigeria each year than in all other countries combined. But earlier this month, he and his colleague helped deliver over $400,000 worth of medical supplies to be distributed to several hospitals.
During an Aug. 8 press conference, Gov. Caleb Mutfwang credited contributions from Widows and Orphans, headed by New York City Pastor Bill Devlin, the US-Nigeria Law group headed by Ogebe, and the Solomon and Mary Lar Foundation. The donations finally arrived after months of various transportation delays.
"I sincerely thank you for this noble initiative," Mutfwang said. "Your efforts in mobilizing these essential health assets and delivering them to us here in Nigeria are deeply appreciated. Our role was merely to facilitate logistics from the airport to the Plateau Specialist Hospital."
Although Ogebe has worked to provide humanitarian relief to Nigeria for three decades, the increasing violence impacting many states made delivering aid difficult starting around 2016. The government would try to steal containers, Ogebe said, forcing him to suspend humanitarian relief to the country.
Ogebe visited Nigeria a few months ago alongside Devlin, a mission pastor at Infinity Bible Church in the Bronx, to attend the wedding of the daughter of Rev. Lawan Andimi, a Nigerian priest beheaded by the terror group Boko Haram in 2020.
Devlin, who was recognized by the White House for traveling the globe to help persecuted Christians, operates the ministries REDEEM! and Widows and Orphans. He agreed with Ogebe that they should provide medical aid to the country after the murder of hundreds of Christians during the pair's visit.
"Nigeria is the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian," Ogebe said. "For 12 out of the last 13 years, more Christians have been killed in Nigeria than the rest of the world combined."
Christians in Nigeria face the threat of slaughter and destruction of their churches and homes from radicalized Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt states and Islamic extremist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State in the northeast.
During the Christmas season last year, extremist herdsmen are suspected to have led a massacre in predominantly Christian farming communities in the Plateau state, an attack that resulted in just under 200 deaths.
"This is why it was very important to us to make sure we were able to get the medical aid in," Ogebe said. "So it was shocking to us that few organizations are providing support to the most endangered Christians on the planet."
Devlin's group REDEEM! received a donation totaling over 20,000 pounds in supplies from the Christian ministry CRU, which consisted of personal protective equipment, syringes, operating tables, linens and hospital beds. However, the pastor and human rights lawyer faced an uphill battle when it came to delivering the aid.
While they contacted various nonprofits and even the United Nations to help airlift the supplies to Nigeria, this attempt proved unsuccessful.
Devlin and Ogebe decided to ship the supplies. However, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed in May 2024, causing the shipment to be rerouted to New York. The shipment also had to go through the southern Nigerian city of Lagos and north before reaching Plateau state.
"It felt like spiritual warfare," Ogebe said. "It was quite a production, but we're thankful that it finally got there."
After delivering the aid, Ogebe and Devlin attended the ceremony on Aug. 8 at the Plateau State Hospital, one of the dozens of hospitals to receive the medical resources.
Ogebe urged American churches and religious aid groups to do more than send translated Bibles to persecuted Christians in Nigeria — their "persecuted brethren."
He highlighted the practical support he believes is the most helpful to Nigerian Christians, such as medical supplies and supplies to help them rebuild their churches. Ogebe contrasted these types of efforts with the work of certain aid groups that raised millions of dollars to send Bibles to persecuted Christians.
"When you see a brother in need, you don't say to them, 'Go forth and be well,'" the humanitarian explained. "You address the need. When the American Church comes and says we're spending $11 million on Bibles for people who need surgery, education, housing and shelter because they've lost everything for Christ, it's the same thing as saying, 'Oh, you just be well. Read the Bible.'"
"It doesn't work that way," Ogebe added. "We need to be the hands and feet of Christ to these people."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
