Chibok: CAN releases abducted students' names
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Sunday released the names of 165 Christian female students and 15 Muslim females abducted by Boko Haram insurgents almost two weeks ago.
The list for the first time reveals the preponderance of girls of Christian faith among the abducted girls.
In a statement issued yesterday, in Abuja by the body and signed by President/Founder of Old Time Revival Hour, Kaduna, Evangelist Matthew Owojaiye, who is the immediate-past chairman of Northern States Christian and Elders Forum (NOCSEF), an affiliate of CAN, in a statement for CAN in Abuja on Sunday said majority of the abducted girls are Christians.
According to the statement, the girls taken captive would be treated as slaves and sold into marriage to 'unclean' people.
'An abomination has been committed,' Owojaiye said in the statement, adding that 'it is a shame on the Church of the Living God.'
the organisation said: 'Chibok Local Government is 90 per cent Christian. Majority of the girls abducted are Christian. Why did Boko Haram visit Chibok Local Government? Why didn't they visit so many other Local Government Girls Secondary Schools in Borno State?'
The statement urged Christians to fight the Boko Haram insurgency with prayers.
It said: 'The Church in Nigeria is hereby called to a lamentation prayer.
'Every Christian home must raise a lamentation to heaven daily. Let God arise and defend His name, honour and majesty.
'Let a 15 minutes cry to heaven be done in every Church every time they gather. Oh God, rend the heavens and come down! Why should the people say where is our God?
'The list is only of Christian girls. The others were not immediately known. Parent claimed that 234 girls are missing.
'The military may not be able to solve the problem but prayer will. Ordinary military force may not get them out. Intensive agonising prayer will.'
NOCSEF made three demands. They are:
•N50million damages as trauma compensation to each girl;
•overseas university scholarship for each of the girls by September.
•transfer of SS1 and SS2 girls in that school to other schools.
In a related development, Military troops bombarded a suspected Boko Haram hideout in a village at the outskirts of Maiduguri weekend, in a counter attack to halt further killings by the insurgents.
The troops said they launched a counter attack on the sect members with mortal shell, after they attacked some residents of Margimari village at the outskirts of Maiuguri in Borno.
'Troops on receiving distress call at about 2am this morning (Saturday) launched a counter attack using mainly mortar shells on a group of terrorists, who had attacked and killed four persons in Margimari village and other settlements in the outskirts of Maiduguri,' Director Defence Information/Coordinator, Joint Information Centre, Counter Terrorism Campaign North-East Nigeria, Maj Gen Chris Olukolade said in a statement at the weekend.
farmers in the area, after an earlier attack on the community,' the defence spokesman said.
happy wheels