Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: January 8, 2022
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
It’s clear throughout the Bible that God loves justice. Micah 6:8 is just one example of God calling us to do the same by prioritising justice in the way we live our lives.
Use this verse as encouragement as we pray for justice in Nigeria.
Fresh concerns for Du Merci children
In December 2019, 27 children were seized during police raids on the Du Merci orphanages founded by Professor Richard Solomon Tarfa and his wife Mercy in Kano and Kaduna states. The professor was arrested and charged with abducting children from their legal guardians, yet despite his acquittal in 2021, the children are yet to be returned to the custody of the Tarfas.
- Please pray particularly for the five youngest children, who were separated from their siblings and forcibly relocated to a rural orphanage in Gaya. We recently received concerning news that they appear thin, dishevelled, withdrawn and fearful.
Esther, Martha, Mercy, Destiny and Emmanuel Tarfa have all been given Muslim names and can no longer remember their original ones. Moreover, they can no longer speak English, which used to be their first language, and could not recognise people who they previously knew well.
- Join us in praying for healing for these traumatised children, and that all the Du Merci children would soon be reunited with the Tarfas – the only parents they have ever known.
More abducted students released
Since their abduction in July 2021, 120 Bethel Baptist High School students have been released little by little in exchange for increasing amounts of money.
On 26 November, the head boy was released after his captors reportedly demanded an additional N5 million. Until then, he had refused to go home until all the other students were freed, but had fallen gravely ill. Two more students were released on 1 January 2022, leaving one student still in captivity.
In summary, please pray:
- Giving thanks that 120 of the 121 abducted Bethel Baptist students have now been freed.
- That the last remaining student will soon be released from captivity.
- For the physical, spiritual and emotional well-being of all the Du Merci children, and particularly for Esther, Martha, Mercy, Destiny and Emmanuel.
- That all the Du Merci children will be returned to the custody of the Tarfas without delay so that the healing process can begin.