DELIVERED FROM EVIL: Nigerian Forces Rescue Over 300 Captive Women and Children From Boko Haram Terrorist Encampment

For years the ACLJ has gone to the United Nations to urge the international community to put pressure on Nigeria to protect its countless Christians and other religious minorities who are being persecuted, abducted, and murdered by Islamic extremists. Now we are pleased to report that the Nigerian government has taken decisive action, and over 300 innocent women and children have been rescued from the captivity of Boko Haram – the violent terrorist regime that has sworn its allegiance to ISIS.

According to Global Christian Relief (GCR), an international advocacy group defending persecuted Christians around the world, Nigerian armed forces raided a Boko Haram stronghold and rescued 135 women and 209 children from the Islamic militia.

As GCR reported:

Nigerian authorities infiltrated Sambisa Forest near Cameroon and Niger—where the extremist group maintains a stronghold to execute strategic attacks. When the successful rescue operation concluded after several days, Nigerian authorities stated that the hostages appeared to be very weary and were wearing tattered clothing. Some had been in captivity for several months while others stated that they had been held for a number of years. One of the freed captives . . . said that she longed to escape but feared that her children would be harmed—or that she would be tortured if apprehended.

This is a monumental victory. According to the most recent reports from Open Doors, a nondenominational organization monitoring global persecution of Christians, Nigeria remains ranked #6 in the world for persecution and human rights violations. Since 2009, over 52,000 Christians have been killed, and more than 700 have been abducted in Nigeria.

In fact, as we’ve previously told you:

A new report by Open Doors International, a human rights watch group, states 90% of Christians murdered worldwide last year were in Nigeria. The year before, it was 80%.

Think about that. That number is staggering. One nation is responsible for 90% of all Christians killed for their faith in the entire world. I bet you didn’t know that – because the mainstream media and the Biden Administration are completely ignoring this genocidal uptick in Christian persecution.

Sadly, here at home, our own President has not only ignored the plight of dying Christians in Nigeria, but he actually took steps to betray them. When ACLJ Senior Counsel for Global Affairs Mike Pompeo was the U.S. Secretary of State, he placed Nigeria on a special Countries of Particular Concern watchlist for engaging in or tolerating “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.” But no sooner had Biden taken office than his own Secretary of State Antony Blinken reversed that move, taking Nigeria off of that critical list, essentially condoning the laundry list of human rights violations, violent attacks, and murder of innocent Christians and other religious minorities.

We sent an urgent legal letter to Sec. Blinken demanding Nigeria be returned to that list, which was of course ignored. Left with no choice, as we told you at the time, we then filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request against the Biden Administration, demanding all records regarding this egregious decision. Now we’re embroiled in ongoing litigation with the Biden Administration as it tries to hide the truth about the grave harm Biden’s decision has done.

We applaud the Nigerian government for taking action to rescue these 341 innocent souls from a literal hell on Earth. But while they’ve been freed from a true living nightmare, many of these women and children have nothing to return to and will need crucial aid and protection.

As GCR also reported:

Many of the women—who were widowed, kidnapped and held hostage for years by the extremists—now have no spouses, homes or livelihoods to return to. And some have several young mouths to feed after being subjected to sexual assaults and forced marriages in the Boko Haram compound.

While we celebrate this as a huge victory, we must acknowledge that the nightmare continues for countless Nigerian Christians who live every day in fear.

The ACLJ will continue our work at the United Nations, as well as on Capitol Hill, to ensure that Nigeria continues to protect its Christians, holds vile terrorists like Boko Haram accountable, and provides necessary aid and relief to the victims.

Every Nigerian man, woman, and child deserves a life without fear of violence and abuse. No one should be targeted for their faith.