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Chibok girls
Several of the Chibok girls

April 14th marked the fifth anniversary of an attack which shocked the world and devastated the lives of many in Nigeria. On that day, members of the Boko Haram militant group attacked a girls' school in Chibok, forcibly removing at least 276 young students, most of them Christians.

In the days and months that followed, a number of the girls were thankfully recovered. Yet, after five years, the whereabouts of 112 students remain unknown. Attacks by Boko Haram have continued in Nigeria with schools being frequently targeted. According to a report from UNICEF last year, more than a thousand children have been abducted between the year 2013 and this April 2018. Also, at least 2,295 teachers have been killed and more than 1,400 schools destroyed. VOMC's previously posted reports can be accessed at the Nigeria Country Report.

Following the Chibok incident, which drew the attention of the international community to the dire situation with Boko Haram, the Nigerian government has been criticized for doing little to free the rest of the schoolgirls. Some of the parents have died while waiting for their daughters to be rescued; others remain in grief. "There is great pain in our hearts every day when we remember our missing daughters," one parent confesses. "We leave it to God to help us."

Please continue to remember the missing girls and other innocent victims who are being held against their will, praying that they won't only be protected physically but also strengthened in their innermost being to stand firm spiritually. Pray also for the suffering families that are anxiously waiting to know what has happened to their missing children. May the authorities in Nigeria and other surrounding nations be proactive in seeking to find those still in captivity, and resolute in the international call to bring the perpetrators responsible to justice.

Current Ministry Projects

Through a vast variety of projects, VOMC works with in-country partners to encourage and strengthen Nigerian Christians who have experienced extreme forms of persecution. Christian widows receive trauma counselling to help them heal from the aftermath of tragically losing their husbands due to persecution-related attacks. These widows are also provided skills training so they can have a practical means of income to support their families. Children who have lost their parents and other relatives during incidents of persecution are provided a safe place in which to grow and be nurtured. Medical fees are paid for Christians who have suffered serious injuries perpetrated by militants affiliated with Nigeria’s Boko Haram and Fulani groups. Discipleship and vocational training are being offered to Muslim-background believers to help them start their new lives spiritually and practically.

The ministry also gives persecuted Christians who are completing their master's degrees – and have a desire to share the Gospel in their communities – the opportunity to benefit as recipients of the Glenn Penner Scholarship Award. Another one of VOMC’s projects in Nigeria involves the distribution of food aid to persecuted Christians residing within Internal Displacement Persons' (IDP) camps. Through this distribution effort, displaced believers who have been forced to flee their homes and communities because of their faith not only receive daily sustenance but also the encouragement that’s needed to rebuild their lives.

Project Funds: Women’s Ministry, Bibles (Distribution), Medical, Families of Martyrs, Equipping the Saints, Relief & Development

Country Information

Population
219,463,862 (July 2021 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Hausa (30), Yoruba (15.5), Igbo (15.2), Fulani (6), Tiv (2.4), Kanuri/Beriberi (2.4), Ibibio (1.8), Izaw/Izon (1.8), Other (24.7)

Religion (%)
Islam (53.5), Christianity (45.9), Other (0.6)

Leader
President Muhammadu Buhari (2015)

Government type
Federal presidential republic

Legal system
Mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law

Source: CIA World Factbook

Pray for Nigeria

May God minister great comfort and healing to all who have been injured or bereaved as a result of the militants' brutal attacks. In addition, pray for the remaining abducted Chibok schoolgirls, that they will be assured of the Lord's abiding presence as they await release from captivity. Continue to uphold President Buhari and other members of the Nigerian government as they make further attempts to rescue the remaining girls and provide protection for vulnerable citizens. As they persevere in their endeavours to overcome terrorism, may they be granted wisdom, courage, strength and help from on high.

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