American Pastor Offers To Be Hanged in Place of Nigerian Christian Sentenced to Death
An American pastor has issued a plea to Nigerian government authorities offering his life in exchange for the life of a Christian man who has been sentenced to death by hanging, according to a report from the Christian Post.
Pastor William Devlin is the missions pastor of Infinity Bible Church who spends most of his life in the Middle East “sharing God’s Love, conducting humanitarian projects, helping to rescue girls from ISIS and working with Refugees/IDP’s and Persecuted Peoples in countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, etc.”
For years he’s been advocating on behalf of Sunday Jackson, who, in 2015, was a 20-year-old recently married Christian brother. Jackson was minding his own business, farming his field when he noticed that Fulani herder Buba Ardo Bawuro, a Muslim, had brought his animals to his property. Seeing they were eating and trampling his crops, he confronted the man and asked him to leave, but was set upon and attacked. He shared in a statement:
“I was violently attacked and sustained severe injuries. Despite this, I was able to overpower my attacker and defend myself whereupon my attacker died. However, in a gross miscarriage of justice, I was sentenced to death in 2021 after already being in prison for several years.
My assailant stabbed me [in the back of my head] again on my leg, and one more move from him was going to end my life. I was too weak to run, so in defense of myself, I disarmed him while already in a pool of my own blood, and killed him to save my life.”
At his initial trial, the court judge ruled that Jackson should have fled the scene after being attacked and stabbed rather than kill his attacker. In what is a clear case of self-defense, Jackson argued that he couldn’t, as the attack incapacitated him and left him unable to flee. He was sentenced to death, however, and days ago, the Nigerian Supreme Court upheld the ruling.
The sentence comes after Jackson has spent a decade in prison waiting for his trials.
Hearing the clear miscarriage of justice, Devlin make a public plea to reporters in Nigeria, with the CP noting:
“I was just filled with emotion,” Devlin told The Christian Post. “I said to the press, ‘My relationship with Jesus Messiah demands that I offer myself up for Sunday Jackson, much as Jesus Messiah offered Himself up for me.'”
“God has blessed me with a great life,” the pastor said, noting that he’s 72 while Jackson is only 30 years old. “If I can save that man’s life, and they take my life, then I’m willing to do it.”
Unfortunately, pastor Devlin’s offer to exchange his life for Jackson’s will not be considered, leaving his only hope to receive a pardon from Governor Ahmadu Fintiri.
Nigeria is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians to live, where they are frequently attacked and murdered by Muslim groups. In 2025, Open Doors reported that 3100 Christians were killed for their faith in Nigeria, representing nearly 70 of all the deaths worldwide of Christians murdered on account of their beliefs.
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