Source: www.persecution.org
Date: April 22, 2021
Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – A staff member at Greenfield University was killed early Wednesday morning when gunmen attacked and kidnapped students from yet another school in Northern Nigeria.
Details of the incident, including the number of students kidnapped, have yet to be unearthed. Abdul Umaru, a man living close to the area of the University located in Kaduna state, told Premium Times that he heard gunshots but did not believe that schools were still operating in the area:
“With the way things are happening on that Abuja-Kaduna road, I can’t expect a university operating at that area. We see the signboard and one police van always, but it is dangerous. Police have cordoned the whole area,” Umaru told the news source.
Umaru’s reasoning stems from the many school attacks already seen in Nigeria this year. Attacks on schools have dramatically increased, as kidnappers have capitalized on obtaining large ransom payments. The Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram established the pattern of kidnapping school children for ransom in 2014, when the group abducted 276 mostly Christian girls from a school in Chibok. Over 100 of those girls are still missing today. 2021 has already seen several large-scale kidnappings which were originally thought to have been carried out by loosely organized bandits. Recently, Kaduna state governor El Rufai informed the public that these ransoms were used to fund Boko Haram.
HOW TO PRAY: Please pray for the safe return of all who have been kidnapped. Pray for their captors, that their hearts would be softened, and that they will experience the love of Christ that leads to true repentance and salvation. Pray for the Lord to comfort grieving parents and families, for the Nigerian government to be wise in dealing with terrorists, and for the protection of schools from any future attacks.