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‘Bring back our 112 Chibok girls – now and alive!’ Demands for closure and disclosure 7 years on
(World Watch Monitor) ‘I’m Chibok girl Dad. Bring Back Our Girls Now’ read the white letters on the man’s red T-shirt.
The same morning, 15 April seven years ago, he woke to hear his daughter had been abducted from her school dormitory at night. He’s not seen her since, has no idea if she is alive or dead. But amidst his anguish he pleads “Our people are being killed on weekly basis”.
This came on the 7th anniversary of the kidnap of 276 girls, even as global news headlined an attack on a humanitarian hub in the same state from which the schoolgirls disappeared into the Sambisa Forest on the night of April 14th 2014. 112 of them remain un-accounted for.
The dad pleaded ‘Even if our girls remain in the Forest, how has the government abandoned us? Why can’t it secure their parents and brothers? I appeal to [Borno] Governor Zulum…to bring peace to our land”. (There have been three attacks this week in the Borno town of Damasak, 200 miles north of Chibok, on the border with neighbouring Niger – this time by the Islamic State, West Africa Province (ISWAP), which has splintered away from Boko Haram.
Other figures from Chibok echoed his plea “If Nigeria does not rescue our Chibok girls, there’ll be no peace in Nigeria. Boko Haram is increasing in many ways. No amount of intimidation will stop us demanding your [the girls’] rights” said one into the camera. Asked what she would say to her daughter Sarah in case she might be watching, Mrs Samuel said ‘Keep hope alive; we wait for you’.
Sarah will soon turn 25, so was kidnapped at the age of 17. Mrs Samuel also apparently shocked her audience by saying she had not heard anything from the government since the release of 82 of the girls in May 2017.
During the Zoom event, the founder of Citizens’ Hub, Aisha Muhammad Yesufu also boldly challenged the Nigerian government:
“What is the crime of a Chibok girl? Is it that she’s a girl? Is it that she’s Nigerian? Is it that she’s poor?”
Event speakers all said they struggle to understand why recent mass school kidnaps (there have been at least three this year alone) have seen those children freed almost the very next day.
They point to initial denials and incredulity by the state and federal authorities; indeed the President at the time of the 2014 mass abduction, Goodluck Jonathan, eventually ordered an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the mass kidnap because his government denied the incident had even happened for the first two weeks. The inquiry, led by retired Army-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo submitted its report on 20 June, 2014 but it has never been published and nothing has been heard of it since, according to one of the speakers.
Hence the slogan for this week’s event: “Bring Back our Girls- now and alive! Disclosure and closure” – disclosure of the Sabo report and closure for the abducted girls, their parents and communities.
Attendees heard that twenty parents have now died before seeing their daughters – again, most of them from high blood pressure or other stress-related medical conditions.
Seven years ago, a report showed how the Chibok girls’ kidnap appeared to be part of the Islamist group’s strategic approach to destroy the Christian community in N. Nigeria, where in some states, Christians still form a significant minority.
Keynote speaker, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, who retired a year ago from his role as Catholic Archbishop of the capital Abuja, said that the failure of President Buhari to fulfil his promise to defeat Boko Haram ‘by December 2015’ showed ‘graduating incompetence’. He pointed out that the Nigerian army has claimed to have killed the group’s leader Shekau at least four times. He also said that Chibok had led to kidnapping becoming an industry in Nigeria. He also compared the fact that 42 people – teachers and boys – kidnapped in Niger state had been found and freed after ten days, on 27 Feb this year, while one lone Christian girl Leah Sharibu remains in captivity more than three years after abduction, together with UNICEF nurse Alice Loksha, who was kidnapped in October 2018.
Aid groups estimate that more than eight million people in the north-east are in urgent of humanitarian assistance as a result of the 10-year Islamist insurgency.
Nigeria: 82 of the Chibok girls freed in prisoner swap -over 100 still missing
(Voice of the Persecuted) Held captive by the Boko Haram for over three years, 82 of the Chibok girls have been freed in a prisoner swap with the Nigerian government. Unofficially, five of the terror groups members were released in exchange for the girls on May 6, 2017.
Originally 275 Chibok girls had been taken from their school in April, 2014. Their plight became internationally known through the Bring Back Our Girls #hashtag campaign, but celebrity and global coverage quickly waned. Sadly, media silence led many to believe the girls had been released. Some did escaped and others set free, but the condition of the remaining 113 is still unknown.
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja told Agenzia Fides,
“We thank God that these girls have re-embraced their families, but I wonder why they had to wait three years for this to happen.”
“In all these years, I was among those who insistently asked the government to do everything possible to free the girls. The government replied that it could not negotiate for their release with terrorists, exchanging them with some Boko Haram prisoners. But that is what eventually happened. For their release some Boko Haram leaders were released and an important figure was paid. Why did this not happen before, saving three years of suffering for these girls and their families?”
“Three years of anguish that could be have been avoided – he stresses. Among them is a girl with an amputated leg”.
“If these girls had been the daughters of some powerful leader would they have lost all this time? We also forget that there are still more than 100 girls whose fate we know nothing about. Some of them probably died during fights, illness or childbirth. At least let families know the fate of these poor girls. I invite everyone to pray for their release”, he concluded.
Tens of thousands have been killed by the radical militants. 2.6 million are displaced and thousands of men, women and children have been abducted since the Boko Haram began their deadly campaign in 2009. North Nigeria and the surrounding region is now experiencing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis that’s being called one of the gravest in the world. With the uptick of attacks by the Fulani brings continued fears and anxiety. Let us continue to remember our Nigerian brothers and sisters who are too often overlooked by the global community.
Voice of the Persecuted is on the ground in Nigeria to care for our Christians experiencing brutal persecution. If you would like to show your love and support for those who’ve faced unimaginable persecution, please support our Nigerian mission project, today.
We are committed to being a VOICE for persecuted Nigerian Christians and bring them comfort, relief, and encouragement. We have committed to a long-term mission in Nigeria. When they are able to return home, we will be there to encourage and help rebuild villages and their lives. They will not be forgotten!
We want you to know that even in great hardship, they thank God and feel extremely blessed that He has kept His hand on 
them. They have been so encouraged and thankful for each one of you who have joined this mission through your prayers and support. Your gifts have brought so many smiles. THANK YOU!
Together with your generous help, we can reach the goal to alleviate horrific suffering. In darkness and desperation, let us serve in love, with open arms and giving hands to provide light and hope.
HELP SAVE THE PERSECUTED
Every day, we thank God that He is working through you to care for His children and to further His Kingdom! As you greatly bless others, may God continue to bless you. Thank you so much for your support. We couldn’t do it without you!
You may also send your gift to:
2740 Third St
P.O. Box 122
Trenton, MI. 48183
If the Lord is placing it on your heart and you are able, please help us to continue the mission in Nigeria. It will be a long term project. Donations always desperately needed
Talks to free Chibok girls failed three times
Chibok Schoolgirls, majority are Christians, held captive by Islamic militants, Boko Haram
Keeping their eye on the situation, World Watch Monitor shared the Nigerian government has, for the first time, disclosed its failure to secure the release of girls kidnapped by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram from the northern town of Chibok in April 2014. On 16 September, Nigeria said that negotiations have gone on since July 2015, shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari took office.
Three times the negotiations were derailed, once at the last minute even after the president had agreed to free imprisoned Boko Haram fighters. Another time, talks failed because key members of Boko Haram’s negotiating team were killed.
President Buhari, criticised by parents and activists, appealed for the parents’ trust.
In August, Boko Haram released a video which appeared to show some of the 218 girls looking physically weak and traumatised. It showed a masked man demanding the release of militants in exchange, and one girl, who calls herself Maida Yakubu, asking her parents to appeal to the government.
Maida’s mother Esther reacted to this latest government statement: “There had been such promises since Day 1 of the abduction up till today… If I see my baby back, I hold her in my arms, we embrace each other, then fine. But for now, I don’t think so”.
Most girls were Christian and were reportedly forcibly converted to Islam. It’s feared that many have been sexually abused and forced into “marriage” by their captors. A report, “Our Bodies, their Battleground”, detailed this kind of treatment of minority Christians in northern Nigeria going back to 1999.
WWM list their source as: New York Times
In Nigeria and often in the west, the media often only shares portions of the abuse Christians are facing, or doesn’t mention them at all. We must stand with our brothers and sisters and speak out. Pray for the Chibok girls and for the huge numbers of girls who’ve been abducted by the Boko Haram. Their captors treat them as property and sex slaves, including girls as young as 8yrs. old. Many have faced horrors that a too hard for most to imagine. Pray for their families whose hearts are breaking for their children.
Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) is on the ground helping to care for the persecuted in Nigeria through our aid program, ‘Project 13:3’. They have suffered much, so many lives have been lost or forever changed by the insurgency. Many suffer from unbearable heartbreak. Living conditions for the displaced brings extreme hardship and too often disease and illness. Their physical, emotional and Spiritual needs are immense. We’ve been notified of a heartbreaking case where the love of the Body of Christ is greatly needed. We’ll soon be able to share their story when measures to secure them are in place.
We are committed to being a VOICE for persecuted Nigerian Christians and bring them comfort, relief, and encouragement. We have committed to a long-term mission in Nigeria. When they are able to return home, we will be there to encourage and help rebuild villages and their lives. They will not be forgotten!
We want you to know that even in great hardship, they thank God and feel extremely blessed that He has kept His hand on 
them. They’re so encouraged and thank God for each one of you who have joined this mission through prayer and your support.
Together with your generous help, we can reach the goal to alleviate horrific suffering. In darkness and desperation, let us serve in love, with open arms and giving hands to provide light and hope.
HELP SAVE THE PERSECUTED
Every day, we thank God that He is working through you to care for His children and to further His Kingdom! As you greatly bless others, may God continue to bless you. Thank you so much for your support. We couldn’t do it without you!
You may also send your gift to:
2740 Third St
P.O. Box 122
Trenton, MI. 48183
If the Lord is placing it on your heart and you are able, please help us to continue the mission in Nigeria. Donations always desperately needed
Chibok School Girls Weep and Plead For Help on Newly Released Boko Haram Video
Chibok schoolgirls
(Voice of the Persecuted) With no news for months, their parents and many others have worried about the condition of the 218 Chibok schoolgirls, a majority Christians, still missing. In a disturbing video shared below, Boko Haram recently released new footage showing around 50 of the abducted girls dressed from head to toe in hijab’s—Islamic attire. It’s heartbreaking to note that the face of every girl held an expression of hopelessness, with some even weeping. Others held babies, obviously raped after forcibly converted to Islam then married off to their kidnappers. It’s sickening to imagine the mental and physical abuse they have endured. God have mercy upon them.
The girls were kidnapped in mid April 2014 when Boko Haram militants attacked the Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Due to security risks, the school had already been closed for a month. Students had been called in only to take final exams.
Disguised as guards, they entered the school and told the girls to come with them. Many of the female students were taken away in trucks to the fortified camps of the Islamic group in the Sambisa Forest. The militants also set homes on fire during the attack.
A militant dressed in camouflage and holding a rifle spoke in the Hausa language and claimed the girls have resigned themselves to their fate. He warned if the Nigerian government does not give up the battle against the radical Islamic group and release all Boko Haram members, the girls would not be seen again. He also threatened the girls will be killed if the military tries to rescue them. In Vanguard’s report, per the news agency’s sources, the militant in the video is believed to be Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s notorious leader. Though unseen for some time and thought to be killed during an airstrike, it’s recently been confirmed he is alive.
His message translated by Vanguard (references to Allah have been changed to God by the news agency):
We thank God for giving us the opportunity to send this message to the parents of these girls [pointing at the girls sitting behind him.]
It pleased God to let us have these girls in our captivity for over two years now. Our first message is to the parents of the girls to let them know that their daughters are still with us, some of them.
I also want to tell them to ask the Nigerian government to release our brethren, especially those in Maiduguri, Lagos, Abuja and other places across Nigeria. They should be released immediately.
You all knew that we had the girls, but God never allowed you to know their location and you will never know by God’s grace. You keep lying in your media that you will rescue them, they have been with us for over two years, yet you can’t even know where they are. You have just been lying about these girls, people should know that.
Also, for the over two years that we have been with these girls, about 40 of them are married, some are dead as a result of airstrike by infidels. We will show you a video of how your own aircraft dropped a bomb that killed some of these girls. Some of the girls have suffered fractures and other forms of injuries as a result of the air strikes.
As you can see, these are the girls, all we want is for you to release our brethren otherwise you will never get these girls God willing. This in short is our message to the Federal Government and the parents of the Chibok Girls.
As long as the government does not release our people, we will also never release these girls, that is our message. I specially informed our people in captivity in Lagos that they should be patient and continue with their prayers, God will take us to where no one expects and we will rescue them. All those in Lagos, Maiduguri and other southern parts of the country. Keep praying, very soon, we will rescue you.
Let me conclude this message by saying that many people have been coming to us lying that they were sent by the Nigerian government to get the girls released. Let the government and the whole world know that we have not sent anyone to negotiate with the government on our behalf over these girls. We have dealt with you in the past and you know our recommended negotiators. If you need to, you should talk to them. We don’t use our own people to negotiate with you, we use your own people such as journalists to talk with you. We have not sent any other persons. You know that we prefer to use journalists known to you.
Let me say again, release our people and we release your girls, otherwise, they will never be released. If you think you have the power to come and rescue them, go ahead and try.
President Buhari, your Army has been lying to you that they have finished us, let them try and see if they can rescue these girls alive.
Obviously pressured and directed, one of the girls was chosen to make an appeal on the video. She claimed her name was Maida Yakubu and shared that some of the girls had been killed in aerial raids targeting Boko Haram strongholds. She also said 40 have been “married” to fighters. She pleaded,
“Oh you, my people and our parents, you just have to please come to our rescue: We are suffering here, the aircraft have come to bombard us and killed many of us. Some are wounded. Every day we are in pains and suffering, so are our babies … No one cares for us.
“Please go and beg the government of Nigeria to release the members of our abductors so that they too can free us to let us come home.”
The girl was later indentified by her parents.
There’s also footage of bodies alleged to be that of girls killed during airstrikes. Many believe they were not killed by the Air Force, but ordered to be executed by Shekau for the purpose of the video message. It is also being questioned if any of the dead girls were even from Chibok, as the schoolgirls are known to be Boko Haram’s greatest bargaining chip.
In part of a statement by Bring Back Our Girls leaders, Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yesufu, said:
“853 days since the abduction of our Chibok Girls, we woke up to a video on the state of our girls. We are left with mixed feelings of grief and strengthened hope as the chilling words continue to sink in.
“Today, 28 months since the abduction, we call on the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, China, Australia, Israel, agencies like the United Nations and African Union, and all who previously expressed intentions to support the rescue efforts, to reengage and adopt a strategic rescue position. As global citizens, this is the least our #ChibokGirls deserve.”
Please keep the Chibok girls and their families in your prayers. Pray the militants (persecutors) taking part in the insanity will have the scales removed and see the true evil behind it. To repent and turn to Christ. Please remember all our Nigerian brothers and sisters in your daily prayers.
Voice of the Persecuted is on the ground in Nigeria to care for our Christian brothers and sisters who have suffered brutal persecution.
We are committed to being a VOICE for persecuted Nigerian Christians and bring them comfort, relief, and encouragement. We have committed to a long-term mission in Nigeria. When they are able to return home, we will be there to encourage and help rebuild villages and their lives. They will not be forgotten!
We want you to know that even in great hardship, they thank God and feel extremely blessed that He has kept His hand on them. They’re so encouraged and thank God for each one of you who have joined this mission through prayer and your support.
Together with your generous help, we can reach the goal to alleviate horrific suffering. In darkness and desperation, let us serve in love, with open arms and giving hands to provide light and hope.
HELP SAVE THE PERSECUTED
Every day, we thank God that He is working through you to care for His children and to further His Kingdom! As you greatly bless others, may God continue to bless you. Thank you so much for your support. We couldn’t do it without you!
You may also send your gift to:
2740 Third St
P.O. Box 122
Trenton, MI. 48183
If the Lord is placing it on your heart and you are able, please help us to continue the mission in Nigeria. Donations always desperately needed
Western governments knew where 80 kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls were shortly after abduction
A report has surfaced that Dr Andrew Pocock, the former British high commissioner to Nigeria, has now revealed that a large group of the missing girls were spotted by British and American surveillance officials shortly after their disappearance, but experts felt nothing could be done.
He told The Sunday Times that Western governments felt ‘powerless’ to help as any rescue attempt would have been too high risk – with Boko Haram terrorists using the girls as human shields. Read report here
Nigeria: President ready to negotiate with Boko Haram for release of 200+ Schoolgirls
Chibok Schoolgirls forced to convert to Islam by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria
NIGERIA Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, a former dictator, who took office in May, stated he had no new intelligence on over 200 schoolgirls (majority Christians) kidnapped nearly two years ago in April 2014. His government is now willing to negotiate with any “credible” Boko Haram leadership for the release of the schoolgirls. Their case captured international attention when it made global headlines. We pray for their return as for the thousands of girls kidnapped during the course of 6 years, yet rarely cover by the media.
276 girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants from their school in the town of Chibok in northeast Nigeria. Some of girls were able to escape soon afterwards, but nothing has been seen or heard from around 200 of the girls since a video released, last May.
This video shows a clip of the girl in the 2014 video. One girl describes seeing some of the schoolgirls months later during her captivity.
In a radio broadcast, President Buhari said, “We are prepared to negotiate with them without precondition.” He relayed they wanted to make contact and added, “we are looking for a credible Boko Haram leadership that will confirm that the girls are alive.” “We want to be sure that they are complete, safe.”
He said it was the honest truth that the government has no information on the girls, including their health condition.
In their six-year terror campaign to create an independent Islamic state in Nigeria, Boko Haram has brutally slaughtered thousands of people. 2.2 million people have fled their communities, many completely razed, now refugees in their own land. They are called IDP’s, Internally Displaced Persons.
Last week, Buhari’s announced that “technically” the group had been defeated. But his words proven false by a wave of attacks and suicide bombings that killed over 50 people, injuring many more in the weary northeast of the country.
Sources on the frontlines told Voice of the Persecuted(VOP), “Our hearts are heavy. They claim they are meeting the December dead line even after lives have been lost. We have come to lose confidence in our military. In regards to last week’s attacks, we were told some had to flee for safety, but things have improved.
Buhari, a Muslim, mentioned to journalists that he could ban the wearing of hijabs or other headwear by Muslim women if insurgents continue to use veiled females to carry out suicide attacks. “Hijab will have to be banned if this continues,” he said.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu stated on Friday,
“Everything will be done to balance national security requirements with the rights and obligations of citizens under their religions as protected by the constitution.”
While noting that the increasing abuse of the Hijab by terrorists to perpetrate criminal mass murder and other atrocities is a reality, he asserted that the government would address the security challenge in consultations with Muslim leaders so as to find a workable solution.
Today, President Buhari said a committee to rehabilitate infrastructure and resettle IDPs will soon be inaugurated.
The committee, will be led by a frontline statesman, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, a retired lieutenant general. It will also include Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, a statement by spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said.
Buhari announced that all forms of assistance and aid in this respect, generated locally and from foreign countries as promised by the Group of Seven of Industrialized Countries (G7) would be channeled through the committee when inaugurated.
He said he had compiled a list of damaged infrastructure,including schools and bridges and handed it to the leaders of the G7 and the United States, adding that “I didn’t ask for a Kobo (in cash). It is up to them to choose what they will undertake. Already, some of them have sent teams to verify our assertions.”
He also decried the impact of the Boko Haram violence on women and children, declaring that they are its worst victims.
“In the North-East, what I saw for myself and on those clips is a source of concern for people with conscience,” he said. “They are mostly women, and children who are orphaned. Some of them don’t even know where they come from. This is the pathetic situation in which the country has found itself.”
He said the fight for the return of the Chibok girls was ongoing and “continues to be a most worrying issue” to his government, emphasizing that the administration will do all within its powers in making the best efforts to secure their freedom.
Based on latest assessment reports, many areas remain too dangerous for return. It’s also believed the planned closings of government IDP camps will not be possible as seen with the latest attacks. Boko Haram is not defeated and still remains a deadly threat.
VOP is aiding an IDP camp caring for Christians who have faced incredible persecution. Nearly every person has lost loved ones, at the hands of Boko Haram militants. The road ahead is long, both physically and emotionally. The well project to protect these dear ones from disease has begun! The the ground appears very difficult and after drilling to a great depth, drillers feel the need to change location. Pray this project goes smoothly and more funds will not be necessary to finish the well. Daily, those in the camp draw water from a local well and must carry the water back to the camp. It’s also believed to be contaminated by overuse causing an outbreak of Cholera.
Much help is needed to continue covering basic needs for persecuted families, orphans and widows in the camp, approx. 400 people. Your gifts make it possible to get food, clothing, medical needs/care and fresh water to the suffering. These brothers and sisters need us to step up.
Together with your generous help, we can reach the goal to alleviate horrific suffering. In darkness and desperation, let us serve in love, with open arms and giving hands to provide light and hope.
Everyday, we thank God that He is working through you to care for His children and further His Kingdom! As you greatly bless others, may God continue to bless you. Thank you so much for your support. We couldn’t do it without you!
You may also send your gift to:
2740 Third St
P.O. Box 122
Trenton, MI. 48183
Remembering The Chibok Schoolgirls Abducted by Boko Haram One Year Ago, Today—Why Have They Not Been Found?
(Voice of the Persecuted) Nigerians according to reports are marking the one year anniversary of the abduction of 200 schoolgirls (most of them Christians) from the town of Chibok by Boko Haram.
All political parties have promised their return, including the newly elected President Buhari. The girls became political tools in Nigeria’s tightest presidential election in Nigeria’s history. In a ‘covenant he made to Nigerians and promised to bring back their girls, see below.
3. Insurgency and Insecurity
I have had the opportunity to serve my country in the military up to the highest level, as a Major General and as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. In the course of my service, I had defended the territorial integrity of Nigeria. And if called upon to do so again, I shall rise to the occasion. As a father, I feel the pain of the victims of insurgency, kidnapping and violence whether they are the widows and orphans of military, paramilitary or civilians.
I pledge to:
- Ensure that under my watch, no force, external or internal, will occupy even an inch of Nigerian soil. I will give all it takes to ensure that our girls kidnapped from Chibok are rescued and reunited with their families.
The covenant in it’s entirety can be viewed here
Now Buhari say’s he cannot promise that they will be found. The world rallied at the beginning, but sadly demands for their release fell silent on the world scene.
Amid rumors of sightings, and known whereabouts, there are also rumors that they have been forced into marriages with Boko Haram members. The latter has feared to hold more merit. Unfortunately recently Boko Haram slaughtered many of their wives while government forces began to take back the towns claimed by Boko Haram. They did this to prevent them from marrying anyone else. The forced marriages and lives of servitude to Boko Haram are all too common. Horror scenes are described by those who have escaped. Many wishing for death and even attempting or succeeding in suicides rather than endure the torture at the hands of evil men.
The world is only beginning to awaken to the magnitude of devastation, torture and ruin that this group has brought to Nigeria. Christians have been the main target. Although those who refuse to believe or follow strict ‘Sharia’ law are also targeted.
- The UN reports that 80,000 children have been displaced
- Amnesty International say’s that over 2,000 women have been taken by Boko Haram
- 1.5 Million people have been displaced
- Boko Haram killed more than 5,000 civilians between July 2009 and June 2014, including at least 2,000 in the first half of 2014, in attacks occurring mainly in north-east, north-central and central Nigeria.
Numbers and stats are hard to come by from Nigeria. Based on our sources on the ground, the numbers are under-reported.
The world may never know the carnage that has been wrought in the country. Boko Haram, ISIS, Al-shabob, and Al-Queda have joined forces and have been thus far allowed to run rampant. They are spreading hate, and a rule of barbaric law that modern society can not begin to grasp. In fact countries in the Middle East and Africa are still under some form of this ancient barbarity.
According to a report in Yahoo News by the AFP, Chibok elder Enoch Mark, whose daughter and niece are among the captives, said the town was still in “perpetual fear” of Boko Haram, despite the presence of troops. “The last one year has been a period of sadness, emotional torment and hardship. It has been one year of mourning. We are a bereaved community that has lost 219 daughters,” (More)
I can’t even imagine the fear, the sadness, and hopelessness that these families feel. The stark truth of reality is these girls will most likely never be found. As with the highway of terror from Iran to Africa, these groups have kidnapped boys and girls by the thousands from their homes, & from the refugee camps right under the noses of the governments. The hell that these precious children have had to endure is mammoth. Children looking into the face of evil, the face of hell.
(Amnesty International You Tube channel) At least 2,000 women and girls have been abducted by Boko Haram since the start of 2014 and many have been forced into sexual slavery and trained to fight, said Amnesty International on the first anniversary of the abduction of the Chibok school girls.
Based on nearly 200 witness accounts, including 28 with abducted women and girls who escaped captivity, a new 90-page report, ‘Our job is to shoot, slaughter and kill’: Boko Haram’s reign of terror, documents multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Boko Haram, including the killing of at least 5,500 civilians, as it rampaged across north-east Nigeria during 2014 and early 2015.
The Amnesty International report sheds new light on the brutal methods used by the armed group in north-east Nigeria where men and boys are regularly conscripted or systematically executed and young women and girls are abducted, imprisoned and in some cases raped, forcibly married and made to participate in armed attacks, sometimes on their own towns and villages.
C. Refsland, VOP Advocate/News Analyst & the Voice of the Persecuted team
PRAYER POINTS:
Please continue to remember and pray daily for these dear girls.
- Pray they can endure until they can return to their families. May God clear a path and make a way for them.
- Pray they will hold n to their Christian faith, even silently in the presence of a militant husband.
- Pray that they will feel the presence of the Lord with them and know they are not forsaken.
Together with your generous support, we can reach the goal to alleviate horrific suffering. In darkness and desperation, let us serve in love, with open arms and giving hands to provide light and hope.
Everyday, we thank God that He is working through you to care for His children and further His Kingdom! As you have greatly blessed others, may God continue to bless you. Thank you so much for your support. We couldn’t do it without you!
Nigerian extremist says kidnapped girls married
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — With a malevolent laugh, the leader of Nigeria’s Islamic extremists tells the world that more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls have all been converted to Islam and married off, dashing hopes for their freedom.
“If you knew the state your daughters are in today, it might lead some of you … to die from grief,” Abubakar Shekau sneers, addressing the parents of the girls and young women kidnapped from a remote boarding school more than six months ago.
In a new video released late Friday night, the Boko Haram leader also denies there is a cease-fire with the Nigerian government and threatens to kill an unidentified German hostage.
“Don’t you know we are still holding your German hostage (who is) always crying,” he taunts. “If we want, we will hack him or slaughter him or shoot him.” READ MORE
VOICE OF THE PERSECUTED 