UPDATE: ACLJ Taking Action at U.N. as at Least 80 Kidnapped Christian Schoolchildren Remain Captive, Facing Death or Enslavement by Nigerian Radicals

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. ~ Matthew 18:6

Scripture tells us that anyone who harms an innocent child will face the wrath of Almighty God. But in the meantime, we have a biblical mandate to take action here on earth.

Innocent Christian children are being targeted by vicious jihadists in Nigeria. These children’s lives are in extreme danger at every turn simply because of their faith in Jesus. Many Christian girls and young women are currently being held captive by Islamic terrorists, facing a horrific fate. And their time is almost up.

We recently reported to you that armed Islamic radicals had violently abducted somewhere between 120 and 140 Christian schoolchildren from a Baptist high school in Nigeria. Even CBS News reported that this is just “the latest in a wave of mass abductions targeting schoolchildren and students.”

These defenseless children – who were simply trying to gain an education and improve their lives – were specifically targeted because in the eyes of these vile Islamic extremists, their Christian lives have no value except as prisoners and slaves.

Now it is being reported that at least some of those kidnapped Christian students have been released and allowed to return home, for now.  According to the Associated Press report:

Armed kidnappers in Nigeria have released 28 of the more than 120 students who were abducted at the beginning of July from the Bethel Baptist High School in the northern town of Damishi.

Church officials returned those children to their parents at the school on Sunday. But the Rev. Israel Akanji, president of the Baptist Convention, said more than 80 other children are still being held by the gunmen.

The story also states that as many as six more of the kidnapped students managed to escape the terrorists and were located by the local police:

A spokesman for the Nigerian Police, Mohammed Jalige, said security forces and civilian defense forces were on a routine rescue patrol July 12 around the forests near the village of Tsohon Gaya when they found three exhausted kidnapped victims roaming in the bush. Two other students escaped on July 20 when they were ordered to fetch firewood from a nearby forest.

While we give thanks to God for the freedom of those children who have been returned home to their parents and loved ones, there are still so many more in the clutches of these monsters. Their lives are in jeopardy with every second that passes.  Yet the Nigerian government continues to do little or nothing to save them or protect any of its Christian citizens from Islamic violence and bloodshed.

This is exactly why Nigeria continues to be the epicenter of deadly persecution against Christians. As we’ve told you, when he was Secretary of State, ACLJ Senior Counsel for Global Affairs Mike Pompeo officially added Nigeria to the State Department “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) watchlist “for engaging in or tolerating ‘systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.’” Sec. Pompeo specifically called out the Nigerian government for “tolerating the systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of the religious freedom of its people, allowing them to suffer at the hands of radical Islamic terror.”

Christian pastors have been ruthlessly killed. Children and young women have been abducted and forced into slavery in Nigeria. According to one recent report, roughly 1,000 students have been kidnapped in Nigeria since December 2020.

The ACLJ is NOT WAITING for the Nigerian government to do its job. As we've told you, we just recently filed our 18th submission at the U.N. to defend our suffering Christian brothers and sisters in Nigeria, urging the rest of the world to take action. As one of our recent submissions stated:

It is increasingly evident that Nigeria is unable or unwilling to protect innocent women and children within its borders from these horrific acts of violence. The ECLJ calls upon the U.N. to take the immediate necessary action to stop the violence and prevent further devastation and loss of innocent life.

And we’re not stopping. I recently delivered a critical oral intervention to the U.N. Human Rights Council to demand protection for Nigeria’s Christians. And in the next few days, we are about to deliver FOUR NEW WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS to the U.N. about some of the worst persecuting nations – including our 19th submission on Nigeria – demanding an end to this evil.

We are waging our most aggressive campaign yet to defend our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters at the U.N. and demand international intervention. Countless young Christian lives are hanging in the balance. We could be their only hope.

And we’re about to file again. Our critical work to defend dying Christians must continue until all hostages are free and dangerous jihadists are brought to justice. All children deserve to go to school without fearing for their lives. All believers in Nigeria and beyond need to be free to worship and pray without the threat of violence.