Nigeria (MNN) — More and more Christian children in Nigeria are being kidnapped by Muslims, especially in Sokoto. Christian leaders worry that this trend may continue to worsen.
Several cases have been reported of children being kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam. Most recently, a woman tried to rescue her 13 year-old son from a Muslim house where
he had been held incommunicado since November of last year. As she dragged him away, Muslims surrounded her saying that her son was no longer hers, and again took him with them.
The boy's father, Udo Usen, later said, "I thought, ‘If I force myself into the house of that Muslim to get my son, I will not only be placing the lives of my family at risk but also creating room for them to attack other Christians in Sokoto.'"
Usen and his pastor instead reported the incident to police. The police said there was
nothing they could do until the Sultan of Sokoto returned from his trip.
Another woman who converted to Christianity from Islam married a Christian man. Her two
children were abducted and educated in an Islamic school. Later, the mother was taken as well.
Elsewhere, a younger Christian girl was also abducted and married to a Muslim man without the consent of her parents. Her father, a Christian police officer, used the threat of a gun to rescue her.
So far nothing is being done to change this situation. Please pray for families who are mourning their missing children. Pray for the Muslims who are persecuting Christians, that they would come to know Christ.
