Just as l was ready to turn in my report, another unfortunate event happened. The BBC reports that on Friday, February 26, 2021, around 1:00 am in Nigeria, several armed men arrived at the Government Secondary School in Jangebe town with several pickup trucks and motorcycles, forced more than 317 schoolgirls into their vehicles, and took them away. The Nigerian government soldiers and police are combing forests and have not been able to locate these girls as of this report.
This spate of kidnappings has hit Nigeria recently in the Moslem Northern cities and recalled that 276 schoolgirls were abducted from Government Secondary School for girls in Chibok on April 14, 2014. It took the world’s attention and many protests, which generated the #BringBackOurGirls on Twitter and other social media platforms. More than 100 of the girls abducted from Chibok are still missing. Some of the girls remaining in the kidnappers’ custody are becoming wives to high profiled Boko Haram Islamic Sects members. News is scarce on welfare, but many of them have borne children to these men by now. Boko Haram means, “Western Education is Evil.” One wonders the tragedy and the heartbreak of the parents of these High School girls.
On February 17, 2021, bandits abducted over 27 children from Secondary School in Kagara Niger State, and the children are still not found at this writing. On February 21, 2021, 21 passengers were kidnapped in the same Niger State by bandits. These bandits are Muslim extremists believed to migrate to Nigeria from the neighboring countries, and it is becoming a concern to the Nigerian authorities and other west African countries.
At World Christian Broadcasting, we send God’s message through shortwave radio reaching out to many Muslim communities in West Africa. We are troubled with these kidnappings and are praying fervently that all these children will soon be released back to their parents. We ask all our listeners to pray to God on these children’s behalf.
