Jos, 15 April, 2024 / 9:05 pm (ACI Africa).
Christian leaders in Nigeria are appealing to the government to escalate its efforts to secure the freedom of at least 82 Chibok girls who remain in captivity 10 years after Boko Haram militia abducted them from their school.
The girls are part of the 276 girls, who, on the night of 14 April 2014, were kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok in the Northeastern part of Nigeria’s Benue State.
In a Sunday April 14 report, the National Director for Education, Youth, and Women Development at the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says the case of Chibok girls “cannot be swept under the carpet, as it represents a horrific tragedy that has left an indelible mark on the nation’s conscience.”
Rev. Ozumba Emmanuel Nicodemus adds, “We cannot remain silent while (these) children remain in captivity, yearning for freedom and reunion with their families.”
“CAN hereby reiterates its unwavering demand for the government to intensify efforts and take decisive action to rescue the remaining children still held hostage,” the official of the entity that includes representatives of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) says.