Distraught parents of the 121 abducted students of Bethel Baptist secondary school in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Friday held a prayer session for the rescue of their children.
Dressed in black outfits, the parents converged on the school premises located along the Kaduna-Kachia Highway to hold the prayers.
The parents and sympathisers, in tears, prayed to God to touch the abductors’ hearts and release the 121 students in their custody unconditionally.
The students were abducted from their hostels by bandits who attacked the school on Monday.
At the prayer meeting, the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Reverend Israel Akanji led the prayers and asked the government and security agencies to step up an effort to protect the lives and property of the citizens from bandits.
Reverend Akanji disclosed that he has contacted Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who has assured him of ongoing effort to rescue the students.
Despite the assurance, the cleric insists that the government’s effort is not good enough, saying that it must do more to protect the lives of citizens against bandits and other criminal elements.
He also added that the Baptist Church would not be intimidated, noting that the Church would continue to provide quality education. According to him, the Baptist Church has for the past 166 years operated secondary schools in Nigeria.
“Now, in our history, this is the first time in 166 years that a Baptist school would be raided and the students kidnapped. It had never happened. So we believe in the strength of our history. By calling the Almighty God, our students shall be returned to us,” Reverend Akanji said.
Students of the Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna were the latest victims of kidnapping in the Northwestern state.
It’s been four days now since the 121 students of the school were taken away by bandits to an unknown destination.
Two security operatives were killed while trying to repel the bandits.
An estimated 950 students have been abducted by armed bandits in the Northern region, with many of such incidents occurring in the northwest zone.