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Essay: Sing for Freedom – raise your voice for victims of abductions in Nigeria

Nigeria protest over abductions

ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy organisation CSW, on why – and how – we should stand up for justice on behalf of vulnerable communities in northern and central Nigeria…

In the early hours of 5th July, armed men invaded the Bethel Baptist Secondary School in Nigeria’s Kaduna state and abducted 135 students who were sleeping in their rooms at the time. 

Many of those abducted have since been released or managed to escape, but 11 are still believed to be in the hands of their captors, the latest captives in a kidnapping crisis in which the lives of vulnerable children are leveraged in a money-making enterprise for armed non-state actors in Nigeria. 

Nigeria protest over abductions

An undated image of a protest in Nigeria over the abduction of schoolchildren. PICTURE: Courtesy of CSW

One thirteen-year-old student who managed to escape amid the initial confusion of the abductions told CSW: “I was sleeping, I don’t even know what happened, I just woke up and saw a gun on my chest. The man told me that I should just stand up and follow him.”

Many others were not so fortunate however, with some parents still waiting with bated breath for the release of their sons and daughters despite repeated payment of extortionate ransom amounts. Crucially, theirs is just one community that has been struck by a staggering spate of abductions which has spread across several states in Nigeria.

“Since December, 2020, the country has witnessed 12 armed attacks on educational establishments in which more than 1,100 students have been abducted for ransom and at least seven have died. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that at least one million students could miss school this year due to the rise in mass school abductions and insecurity, after many have already had their education delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Since December, 2020, the country has witnessed 12 armed attacks on educational establishments in which more than 1,100 students have been abducted for ransom and at least seven have died. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that at least one million students could miss school this year due to the rise in mass school abductions and insecurity, after many have already had their education delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month for example, 73 students were kidnapped during an attack on a Government Day Secondary School in the north-western state of Zamfara. Mercifully, all 73 students have now been released, but their ordeal will no doubt leave an impact from which it could take them years to recover.

While several individuals have been arrested in response to the recent abductions, for the most part the Nigerian authorities’ response has been to close schools entirely. This is a blunt and unsustainable instrument.  While it may ensure the safety of students to an extent, it comes at the expense of their education. Instead, the government must do far more to protect vulnerable schools and communities, and to combat the threats posed by armed non-state actors such as Boko Haram/ISWAP and the Fulani militia.

Hopes that the government may take such action are, unsurprisingly, low. Abductions and violence have been part and parcel in the lives of vulnerable Nigerians, particularly in the country’s northern and central states, for over a decade now.

Regular Sight readers will be familiar with the case of Christian schoolgirl Leah Sharibu, who was abducted by ISWAP along with 109 others from her school in Dapchi in February, 2018. While all of her surviving classmates were released a month later following government negotiations, Leah was denied her freedom because she refused to renounce her faith in exchange for her freedom. 



She has remained the terrorists’ captive ever since, despite repeated government promises that they would negotiate her freedom and return her to her family. Speaking at an event to mark her daughter’s 18th birthday earlier this year, Leah’s mother Rebecca said that she had “nothing to say about the [Nigerian] government…We are not happy because they have failed us.”

Another of Nigeria’s most infamous kidnapping cases is that of the 276 Chibok girls who were abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014. Over seven years since these horrific abductions, an estimated 110 girls remain in the hands of the terrorist group, with those who have been released or managed to escape facing myriad challenges of their own.

It is important to acknowledge a shift in both the perpetrators and the motivation behind these well-known cases of abduction and the recent uptick in similar attacks, in that while Boko Haram terrorists are largely of Kanuri origin, the current attacks are carried out by armed men of Fulani descent and appear focused on extracting huge ransoms – often used to purchase sophisticated weaponry – rather than being driven by an ideological opposition to Western education.  However, there are worrying recent reports that Boko Haram fighters  have linked up with Fulani militia and around 250 recently relocated to forests in Kaduna state, where they are engaged in weapons training and abductions.

The situation is indeed grave and appears to be worsening.  Nevertheless, God has called on us to stand up for justice on behalf of vulnerable communities in northern and central Nigeria. It is essential that we continue to raise our voices for all those currently held captive in Nigeria, and this is the focus of CSW’s Sing For Freedom campaign. From 18th October to 7th November 2021, we are challenging people around the world to use the power of their voices through song to raise awareness about the ongoing abductions in Nigeria and wider threats to the right to freedom of religion or belief around the world. Accept the challenge here.

Ellis Heasley is public affairs officer at UK-based religious freedom advocacy organisation CSW.

 

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