By Christian Post –
Parents of the more than 140 students abducted from a Christian boarding school in Nigeria have been holding vigil outside the school, crying out to God and praying for the safe return of their children and staff.
Armed assailants invaded Bethel Baptist High School in the Kaduna state of northwestern Nigeria around 1:45 a.m. Monday, the day senior students were scheduled to take their final exams, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
The mass kidnapping has led to the precautionary closure of 13 other schools in the area identified as “vulnerable,” most of which belong to Christian organizations.
A statement released Monday from the commissioner for Police Kaduna State Command said around 26 students and a teacher were rescued. The search continues for the remaining hostages.
The abductors promised the parents that their children would not starve if they provided rice, beans, palm oil, salt and stock cubes. They said a ransom demand would follow, Euro News reported.
Video footage released by Christian Solidarity Worldwide shows distressed mothers and fathers crying out to God and praying on the school grounds for the release of their children.
Among the parents praying for the students’ safe return was a widow whose four children were kidnapped.
The mass abduction happened in the southern part of Kaduna state in Nigeria, the epicenter of the spate of kidnappings in recent years. The abduction at Bethel Baptist High School was just one of four incidents within 24 hours, CSW reported.
Terrorist groups that have a foothold in the region, like Boko Haram, oppose education and kidnap boys to use as assassins. Those who don’t escape are brainwashed and become terrorists themselves, said Dede Laugesen, executive director of Save the Persecuted Christians, in a previous interview with The Christian Post.
Nigerian parents pray for the safe return of their children kidnapped on July 5, 2021. | Screenshot: Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Parents of the more than 140 students abducted from a Christian boarding school in Nigeria have been holding vigil outside the school, crying out to God and praying for the safe return of their children and staff.
Armed assailants invaded Bethel Baptist High School in the Kaduna state of northwestern Nigeria around 1:45 a.m. Monday, the day senior students were scheduled to take their final exams, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
The mass kidnapping has led to the precautionary closure of 13 other schools in the area identified as “vulnerable,” most of which belong to Christian organizations.
A statement released Monday from the commissioner for Police Kaduna State Command said around 26 students and a teacher were rescued. The search continues for the remaining hostages.
The abductors promised the parents that their children would not starve if they provided rice, beans, palm oil, salt and stock cubes. They said a ransom demand would follow, Euro News reported.
Video footage released by Christian Solidarity Worldwide shows distressed mothers and fathers crying out to God and praying on the school grounds for the release of their children.
Among the parents praying for the students’ safe return was a widow whose four children were kidnapped.
The mass abduction happened in the southern part of Kaduna state in Nigeria, the epicenter of the spate of kidnappings in recent years. The abduction at Bethel Baptist High School was just one of four incidents within 24 hours, CSW reported.
Terrorist groups that have a foothold in the region, like Boko Haram, oppose education and kidnap boys to use as assassins. Those who don’t escape are brainwashed and become terrorists themselves, said Dede Laugesen, executive director of Save the Persecuted Christians, in a previous interview with The Christian Post.
