ICC Note:
More than 80 school girls abducted from a secondary school in Chibok, one of only a few predominately Christian towns in northern Nigeria, continue to be held by their captors, suspected Boko Haram militants. Meaning “western education is a sin,” Boko Haram continues to destabilize Nigeria by murdering, pillaging, and abducting innocents, in many cases Christians. Designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State, the Islamic insurgency holds ties to Al-Qaeda and other known terrorist networks. ICC continues to call on the international community and Nigeria for peace and free practice of religion throughout Nigeria.
04/19/2014 Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram is still holding 85 girls it abducted from a raid on a secondary school in northeastern Borno state this week, although the other 44 were free, the state government said on Saturday.
Monday’s mass abduction of schoolgirls aged 15 to 18 by Boko Haram, who are fighting for a breakaway Islamic state in northern Nigeria, shocked Africa’s most populous country.
It also underscored just how powerless Nigeria’s military is at protecting civilians despite a year-long state of emergency meant to flush the rebels out of three states in the northeast.
The Islamists attacked Chibok school, in remote Borno state, which had 129 girls staying in it, on Monday. Most of them were abducted, although the precise numbers were not clear.
Borno state education commissioner Inuwa Kubo said in a statement late on Saturday that 16 students had managed to flee back home during the night of the attack, while another 28 had escaped after being abducted. The other 85 were still missing.
“We continually pray that all our students return in good health,” Kubo said.
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