Recent abductions of hundreds of individuals in Nigeria, including nearly 300 schoolchildren on March 7 in Kuriga in the central part of the country, have left church leaders and parents, including Catholics, deeply disturbed by yet another wave of senseless violence….CONTINUE READING

As kidnappings increasingly become a horrifying norm in Nigeria, church leaders have vehemently called upon the government to take decisive action.

In broad daylight, armed assailants raided a government primary school and abducted at least 287 pupils in the largest mass kidnapping from a school in a decade. This incident marks the second mass abduction in the West African nation of more than 200 million people in less than a week.

“This is heart-wrenching for all of us, and it’s imperative for the authorities to swiftly intervene to halt the killings and abductions,” lamented Emmanuel Ayeni Nwogu, a catechist from the Archdiocese of Kaduna, where the March 7 abduction occurred. “We continue to pray for the abducted children, hoping they are still alive and under God’s protection.”

Malala Yousafzai, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate shot in 2012 for advocating for girls’ education rights in Afghanistan, condemned the kidnapping of over 200 students in Nigeria.

“No child should endure the horror and trauma of being forcibly abducted from their schools,” she tweeted on March 10. “Children worldwide—from Nigeria to Gaza to Afghanistan—must be able to attend school safely and freely. I urgently call on all relevant authorities to ensure the safe return of all those abducted in Kaduna State, and I stand with their grieving families during these challenging times.”

The abduction of the children, who were taken to a nearby forest at gunpoint, occurred a decade after the Boko Haram terrorist group abducted 276 schoolgirls from their dormitory in the town of Chibok, sparking international outrage. Shockingly, 98 of the Chibok victims remain missing, according to Amnesty International.

In 2023, over 3,600 people were reportedly abducted in Nigeria—the highest figure in five years, as per the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project—including several priests, whose kidnappings have become a scourge for the Nigerian Church.

Nwogu informed OSV News that the gunmen have forced hundreds of churches to remain closed in northern Nigeria and other regions of the country. Additionally, they are now targeting schools, abducting children and educators, and seeking to impose restrictive Islamic Sharia law in the region. While Christians are primarily targeted by the militants, government schools are also attacked due to their lack of protection, and boys are abducted for military purposes.

“The gunmen primarily target and kill Christians and their leaders,” the lay leader stated, emphasizing that most of those killed after abductions are Christians. “The gunmen could abduct anyone, regardless of their religious affiliation, but they only target Christians for killings. For Muslims, the gunmen demand ransom or recruit hostages as fighters.”

Since 2009, when Boko Haram commenced its Islamic uprising to overthrow Nigeria’s secular government and establish an Islamic state, Africa’s most populous nation has grappled with a myriad of security challenges.

The situation worsened in 2011 when Fulani herders, turned militants, joined forces with Boko Haram to escalate attacks in northern and central Nigeria, primarily targeting Christians.

The Intersociety advocacy group in Nigeria reported that over 100,000 unarmed and defenseless citizens have died directly or indirectly outside the law in the hands of security forces between August 2014 and December 2023.

In April 2023, Intersociety published a report indicating that since 2009, when Boko Haram commenced its campaign to establish a caliphate across the Sahel, at least 52,250 Christians and 34,000 moderate Muslims had been slaughtered or hacked to death.

Nigeria’s major religion is Islam. According to the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, as of 2015, the country was 50% Muslim and 48.1% Christian. The report also indicates that Catholics comprise approximately 25% of Christians.

“The government must act to save the Christian population that radical Islamists are decimating,” cautioned Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Makurdi. “The daily kidnappings, killings, and church destruction we are witnessing are aimed at wiping out Christians.”

Bishop Anagbe urged the authorities to safeguard the Christian population, churches, and schools. While praying for the abducted students and those previously kidnapped, Bishop Anagbe disclosed that his diocese has endured numerous attacks by Fulani militants.

“We are concerned that despite the killings and abductions, the government has failed to apprehend anyone,” he stated. “As a church, we demand that the government promptly intervene to curb these vices that continue to distress people.”

Meanwhile, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri, president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, accused the government of neglecting its citizens in their time of need. Archbishop Ugorji cautioned that the country is on the brink of chaos and lawlessness due to the numerous terror attacks that the government has failed to quell.

“The government’s efforts to reform and strengthen the security apparatus of our country have failed to address the many loopholes in the system,” Archbishop Ugorji remarked during the bishops’ plenary in Abuja on February 18. “They have remained reactive and ineffective in combating kidnapping and senseless bloodshed nationwide.”

Archbishop Ugorji cited the Christmas Eve massacre in 2023, which claimed the lives of nearly 200 Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria, as well as the rising incidents of abductions nationwide, as evidence of the futility of the government’s security reforms in safeguarding the populace.

“In the face of escalating violent crimes, the country teeters on the edge of anarchy,” he warned. “Therefore, the government must urgently take steps to fulfill its primary responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of its citizens.”