MY ACCOUNT
At A Glance:
- Unimaginable Loss: Suzanne survived a brutal Boko Haram attack that claimed her father’s life and left her permanently blind.
- Radical Forgiveness: Despite her physical and emotional scars, Suzanne chooses to forgive her attackers, refusing to let hate take root.
- Unshakable Faith: Experience how Suzanne finds a "different kind of light" through her relationship with Jesus and the help of God's people.
The last thing Suzanne saw before permanently losing her vision was her father being shot and killed.
It already had been a difficult few years for Suzanne and her family. Suzanne’s mother had passed away, and the rest of the family left their home in Madagali to a nearby community in northeast Nigeria, eventually returning to their home village because they could not find food.
That was where Boko Haram militants found them.
Boko Haram launched an armed rebellion in northern Nigeria in 2009 with a goal of establishing an Islamic state. As one of the world’s deadliest extremist groups, Boko Haram attacks both Christians and Muslims, destroying schools and churches and killing those who resist.
Boko Haram came for Suzanne and her father on a Saturday when they were working on the farm, clearing the land in preparation to plant maize (corn) and beans. “I was a little distance from my father when [the Boko Haram militant] came with a gun cocked,” Suzanne says. “I said, ‘Father, we are finished today. These people have surrounded us. What are we going to do?’”
The man shot Suzanne’s father three times. “My father tried to stand up again using his last strength … and then he fell down and died.”
The man told Suzanne to gather her things and come with him. She responded, “Oh, God Almighty, You are here, You are with me. I am going nowhere. Even if he will kill me, I stand in truth – Jesus is with me in my heart.”
For the next three hours, Suzanne stood firm, refusing the militant’s orders and staying where she was, next to her father’s body.
Eventually they heard shouting coming from the village. The man shot Suzanne in the head, and she fell to the ground. Thinking she was dead, the militant left. Community members came to put Suzanne’s and her father’s bodies in coffins and took them to be buried.
On the way to the cemetery, however, Suzanne spoke, asking where she was. Seeing that she was still alive, her would-be pallbearers rushed her to the hospital for medical care.
Sadly, Suzanne’s father is one of thousands of Nigerians who have died at the hands of Boko Haram. Nigeria has one of the largest Christian populations in the world. Yet with attackers consistently targeting villages and families because of their Christian faith, Nigeria is one of the most dangerous environments in the world for Christian communities. Over the past 14 years, more than 50,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria.
Given what Suzanne has gone through, it would be easy – perhaps even expected – for her to become bitter or filled with hatred toward her perpetrator.
But when asked what she would say to the man who shot her in the face, Suzanne replied: “I would do nothing to him. I would shake his hand in love, embrace him, and we would pray together. I hold no grudge against him. I have already forgiven him and I pray for him daily. May God forgive him and may God forgive me too.”
Suzanne’s life is still far from easy. Because she is blind, she is unable to take care of herself, let alone her children. Without support, she cannot send them to secondary school.
“The person who killed my father, killed me,” she says. But she also is committed to following God’s command to bless those who persecute you. “He [the man who shot her] is in darkness. But as for me, I am walking in the light of Jesus. I have forgiven him right from that place … I don’t think about being hurt. I only ask God to grant me the kingdom of heaven.”
In one sense, Suzanne’s days are now dark. She no longer has her physical vision. Her earthly existence has changed in many ways.
Yet Suzanne’s heart and soul are blazing with light as she “sees” the face of Jesus more clearly than ever before – transforming her life both now and for eternity.
An urgent call to action They refuse to hide their faith. Let’s make sure they don't face the fire alone.
Millions of Nigerian believers currently are living in displacement camps, driven from their homes by targeted, violent attacks. Yet their joy and faith in Jesus remain unbroken. Make an eternal impact today by delivering urgent emergency aid, spiritual support, and bold advocacy so the Nigerian church can continue to shine in the darkness.
