Nigeria (MNN) — Attackers kidnapped at least 140 students from Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Early Monday morning, armed men smashed a hole in the school’s brick wall and took the students away at gunpoint. The Nigerian government has closed 13 other at-risk schools in response.
Greg Musselman of The Voice of the Martyrs Canada says, “It’s not just land grabbing from the Christians. That’s a part of it. But there’s also a number of groups that are targeting Christians and then trying to Islamize the area. Interestingly, the government of Nigeria claims these are gangs that are doing this. But the Christians are saying, ‘No, these are Fulani Muslims that have been under an ideology of extremely strict Islam.’”
Musselman says another pattern in Nigeria has been extremists targeting schools. Read more here. This violence often gets ignored by the West.
Keep praying
But Christians everywhere must pray for their suffering brothers and sisters. Musselman says, “Every time there’s a kidnapping, it’s somebody’s child. And for us that are followers of Jesus, that’s a part of our family: the body of Christ. We can’t just say, ‘Well, that’s Nigeria again,’ and get fatigued. We need to continue to pray and intercede for the Baptist leaders and the other Christian leaders in the area. They’re getting worn down by this as well.”
Musselman points out the attackers want to wear people down through constant violence. Ask the Holy Spirit to give unending strength and love to Nigerian Christians.
Ask God to strengthen Nigerian Christians. (Photo courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs)
