“Our comfort abounds through Christ.”
Many Nigerian survivors who returned from captivity by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram are asking for support in hopes of returning to society, the International Christian Concern (ICC) recently reported. Rebecca Kabu, 24, suffered several years of unimaginable hardship under Boko Haram’s captivity, including forced marriage and religious coercion.
The Islamic extremist group Boko Haram abducted Kabu in 2014 from a government secondary school in Chibok in Borno state. The then 16-year-old converted to Islam to avoid execution. Kabu managed to escape from the group with the assistance of a Boko Haram member, whom she had been forcibly married. However, life in the Sambisa Forest took a toll on her and her three children, who all died due to a lack of medical care.
“They threatened to kill me if I refused to marry one of Boko Haram. I accepted Islam because I don’t want to die, but I would like to die as a Christian now,” Kabu said. Kabu wants to start a new life, return to school, and become a humanitarian worker to support other survivors.
During the last 16 years, Boko Haram has claimed the lives of more than 350,000 people and the group’s violence affected neighbouring countries such as Chad, Niger, Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, Boko Haram split, leading to the formation of the hostile faction known as the Islamic State’s West Africa. Among its many atrocities, the abduction of schoolgirls like Kabu has been a defining element of its terror.
The challenge extends beyond Boko Haram and other militant groups, including Islamic Fulani extremists and Muslim bandits, continue to abduct young girls. These groups force young girls to convert to Islam and subject them to violence. International Christian Concern (ICC) reported that 130 Christian girls were rescued from captivity, many of whom now suffer after forced marriages, while Nigerian authorities remain largely unresponsive to their plight. The girls continue to face the stigma of their past.
Amnesty International Nigeria recently called on the government to provide meaningful support to these survivors and is working on “Empower Our Girls,” a joint campaign led by Christian women leaders. This campaign is working to draw attention to the urgent need for programs to support the reintegration of the rescued and escaped girls.
Many girls, like Kabu, still seek shelter, justice, and opportunities to be healed in safer environments. Kabu said, “I want to change the environment, go back to school, and use my life experiences to help people who have been through the same pain as me.” (Source: Gospel Prayer Newspaper Roundup)
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. (2 Corinthians 1:5-6)
God, we pray for the salvation of Jesus Christ to come to the souls of Nigeria who have been terrorised by armed groups over the past 16 years. We pray for Your mercy to all those abducted so that they can return to their families soon. Also, we pray that the Nigerian government helps the survivors of the abduction as it fears the LORD. Let those who have suffered like Rebecca Kabu be consoled by Your grace so that they may console and help those who went through the same kind of pain. So that Nigeria may be filled with the grace of the gospel of Christ.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
