URUK OTONG, Nigeria (BNC) — World English Institute coordinator Aniefiok Akpan recalled on Mar. 30 that the whereabouts of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram remains unknown, as the abduction approaches its first anniversary.
A number of the girls belong to Christian families. In his most recent ministry report, Aniefiok wrote,
The Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, is still causing great havoc in the northern parts of Nigeria. More than ten of our sisters in Christ were among the over 250 school girls abducted at Chibok in the northern part of Nigeria by Boko Haram in April last year. One year after the abduction, the Chibok school girls are yet to be rescued, if at all they are still alive.
Boko Haram forces have apparently been weakened by Nigerian and international troops, but efforts to rescue the girls have not met with success.
Two-hundred seventy-six girls were abducted 14-15 April 2014 from a government school in Chibok.
One U.N. official said today that reports indicate “Boko Haram fighters retreating from advancing military forces in Nigeria murdered women and girls they had taken as ‘wives,’ along with other captives.”
Even so, the rescue of the all the girls remains a motive for prayer.
The hashtag #BringBackOurGirls became popular as an effort to keep the kidnapping and the rescue efforts before the world’s attention. Michelle Obama, wife of the American president, was photographed with a sign bearing the hashtag.
World English Institute has an active ministry in Nigeria.
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