by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Nine students who were abducted from Nigeria’s Confluence University of Science and Technology last week have all now been rescued, Reuters reports.
Nigeria is notorious for abductions of civilians, especially Christians, by Islamic terrorists, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP).
The attack on CUSTECH took place on May 10; the nine students were taken from their classrooms. The attack marks the third school abduction this year, including the kidnapping of 130 students from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna state in March. At least 1,400 Nigerian students have been kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in the last 10 years, and many remain captive, the Washington Post reports.
Christians are especially susceptible to violence, particularly murder, and abductions at the hands of jihadists. The spate of mass school kidnappings in Nigeria began in 2014 when Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 Christian school girls from Chibok village in Borno state. Nearly one hundred of the Chibok girls remain captive.
In a report on the situation facing Christians in Nigeria, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization states: “Violence by Islamic extremist groups such as Fulani militants, Boko Haram and Islamic State in West African Province increased during the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, putting Nigeria at the epicenter of targeted violence against the church.”
“The government’s failure to protect Christians and punish perpetrators has only strengthened the militants’ influence,” Open Doors said.