As More Girls are Abducted in Nigeria, Reports Say 90 Percent of Those Taken are Christians

News Staff : May 7, 2014
Persecution.org

Please pray for the safe return of these girls, and use the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag on social media.

(Nigeria)—A Persecution.org report states that: a Boko Haram spokesman officially declared the radical insurgency's responsibility for the kidnapping of 243 school girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Northern Nigeria [in April]; reports were released detailing the names and religious affiliations of 180 of those abducted. Chibok being one of few remaining Christian strongholds in Nigeria's increasingly Islamized North, more than 90% of the 180 identified girls have been identified as Christians. Confirming allegations the girls were specifically targeted for their faith, the revelation reiterates the specificity with which Boko Haram continues to carry out its campaign of terror against northern Christian populations in its quest to establish a separate Islamic state to be ruled by Sharia.

On Sunday, May 4th, Boko Haram terrorists reportedly kidnapped 8 more girls.

This week, President Obama announced that Nigeria has accepted an offer of help by the US, and that a team has been sent to try to rescue the girls.

AllAfrica.com reports: Amid the rising clamour for the release of the names and photographs of the schoolgirls who were abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday released the names of 180, which it said were kidnapped from the school.

Since their abduction, efforts to get the authorities to release the names of the girls and their photographs have proved abortive, raising questions as to why their identities have been shrouded in secrecy.

However, the names of the girls released by CAN was not verified by the police and security forces, Borno State Government, the state Ministry of Education and the school authorities.

When contacted, the Special Adviser, Media to the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Isa Gusau, said he could not verify the list.

But in the statement issued by the body, CAN said the kidnapping was premeditated and particularly targeted at Christians, as Chibok is a predominantly Christian community.

It added that about 90 per cent of the residents are Christians, while the rest are of the Muslim faith.