{"id":2554,"date":"2026-01-25T07:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T07:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554"},"modified":"2026-01-25T01:23:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T01:23:05","slug":"he-saved-262-christians-where-govt-failed-can-mourns-imam-abdullahi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554","title":{"rendered":"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has paid tribute to the late Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, recalling how his personal decision to protect others in a moment of extreme danger saved 262 Christians during a violent massacre in 2018 and left an enduring mark on the nation\u2019s conscience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a statement on Saturday and signed by Archbishop Daniel Okoh, President of CAN, the association mourned the Imam while reflecting on how his single, courageous act spoke to Nigeria\u2019s deep divisions and the fragile bonds holding its social fabric together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rema - Baby (Is it a Crime) [Official Video]\" width=\"980\" height=\"551\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MsZhYgo9MoA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe late Imam Abubakar Abdullahi will forever be remembered for his rare moral bravery and selflessness at a time of grave danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBy choosing to protect innocent lives at great personal risk, he saved 262 Christians during a violent massacre in 2018, standing firmly on the side of humanity when it mattered most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHis actions transcended religious boundaries and powerfully affirmed that the sanctity of human life is sacred above all else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis singular act of heroism did more than save lives. It reinforced hope, strengthened interfaith harmony, and reminded our nation that peace is possible when conscience, love, and faith guide our actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was in recognition of this exceptional service to humanity that CAN honoured him with an award during its Sapphire Anniversary celebrations in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCAN believes that such courage deserves not only remembrance but amplification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs we mourn his passing, we celebrate a life well lived in service to God and humanity,\u201d the association added. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanguardngr.com\/2026\/01\/he-saved-262-christians-where-govt-failed-can-mourns-imam-abdullahi\/\">(Vanguard)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has paid tribute to the late Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, recalling how his personal decision to protect others in a moment of extreme danger saved 262 Christians during a violent massacre in 2018 and left an enduring mark on the nation\u2019s conscience. In a statement on Saturday and signed by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[2881,1956,1592,2880],"class_list":["post-2554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-archbishop-daniel-okoh","tag-christian-association-of-nigeria","tag-christians","tag-imam-abubakar-abdullahi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi - Tona Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has paid tribute to the late Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, recalling how his pe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi - Tona Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has paid tribute to the late Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, recalling how his pe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tona Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-25T07:03:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tona.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"660\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"387\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tona.Today\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tona.Today\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tona.Today\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/76420356652545dc8fd331a11f052477\"},\"headline\":\"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-25T07:03:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554\"},\"wordCount\":267,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Archbishop Daniel Okoh\",\"Christian Association of Nigeria\",\"Christians\",\"Imam Abubakar Abdullahi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554\",\"name\":\"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi - Tona Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-25T07:03:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has paid tribute to the late Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, recalling how his pe\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg\",\"width\":660,\"height\":387},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?p=2554#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tona Today\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Tona Today\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/cropped-cropped-Your-paragraph-text-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/cropped-cropped-Your-paragraph-text-1.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":117,\"caption\":\"Tona Today\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/76420356652545dc8fd331a11f052477\",\"name\":\"Tona.Today\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/caa7d2f1284ad52494d77a04b46fce0d6bf1fe423c5ef2a52e1d3c44ff2fad10?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/caa7d2f1284ad52494d77a04b46fce0d6bf1fe423c5ef2a52e1d3c44ff2fad10?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/caa7d2f1284ad52494d77a04b46fce0d6bf1fe423c5ef2a52e1d3c44ff2fad10?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tona.Today\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tona.today\\\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi - Tona Today","description":"The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has paid tribute to the late Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, recalling how his pe","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi - Tona Today","og_description":"The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has paid tribute to the late Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, recalling how his pe","og_url":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554","og_site_name":"Tona Today","article_published_time":"2026-01-25T07:03:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":660,"height":387,"url":"https:\/\/tona.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tona.Today","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tona.Today","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554"},"author":{"name":"Tona.Today","@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/#\/schema\/person\/76420356652545dc8fd331a11f052477"},"headline":"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi","datePublished":"2026-01-25T07:03:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554"},"wordCount":267,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tona.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg","keywords":["Archbishop Daniel Okoh","Christian Association of Nigeria","Christians","Imam Abubakar Abdullahi"],"articleSection":["Nigeria"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554","url":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554","name":"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi - Tona Today","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tona.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-25T07:03:00+00:00","description":"The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has paid tribute to the late Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, recalling how his pe","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tona.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tona.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Imam-Abubakar-Abdullahi-1.jpg","width":660,"height":387},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2554#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tona.today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"He saved 262 Christians where govt failed \u2014 CAN mourns Imam Abdullahi"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tona.today\/","name":"Tona Today","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/#organization","name":"Tona Today","url":"https:\/\/tona.today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/tona.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cropped-cropped-Your-paragraph-text-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tona.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cropped-cropped-Your-paragraph-text-1.jpg","width":500,"height":117,"caption":"Tona Today"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tona.today\/#\/schema\/person\/76420356652545dc8fd331a11f052477","name":"Tona.Today","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/caa7d2f1284ad52494d77a04b46fce0d6bf1fe423c5ef2a52e1d3c44ff2fad10?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/caa7d2f1284ad52494d77a04b46fce0d6bf1fe423c5ef2a52e1d3c44ff2fad10?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/caa7d2f1284ad52494d77a04b46fce0d6bf1fe423c5ef2a52e1d3c44ff2fad10?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tona.Today"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/tona.today"],"url":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?author=2"}]}},"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2554"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2557,"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554\/revisions\/2557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tona.today\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}