Sudanese pastor arrested by authorities during sermon

OMDURMAN, South Sudan — Sudanese authorities arrested a pastor in Omdurman as he was preaching Feb. 23 and said he would “face justice” unless he resigned his position, sources said. He was held until midnight Feb. 24.

Personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department entered the compound of Omdurman Evangelical Church and arrested Yahya Abdelrahim Nalu as part of a government plan to take over properties of the church’s denomination, the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC), the sources said. Omdurman is opposite Khartoum on the Nile River.

The Federal Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments seeks to replace Nalu, senior leader at the church and moderator of the SPEC Synod, with a government-appointed committee that favors turning SPEC properties over to the government, they said.