We Are Praying For Remaining 120 Kidnapped Baptist Students – NBC President

The President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Revd Israel Akanji, has said the church is still praying to God for the release of the 120 students still in the captivity of bandits.

Akanji said this in Inisa, Osun State on Friday while speaking with journalists at the burial of Madam Deborah Omoronike Ibitoye,

One out of the 121 students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna was released three days ago but Akanji said 120 students were still being held by the bandits.

Bandits invaded the school on July 5 and killed two soldiers after which they abducted over 100 pupils of the school but some of the abducted students escaped.

The student released few days ago, Abraham Aniya, was rescued after he was found roaming inside a forest in Tshohon Gaya village in Chikun Local Government Area along with two other kidnap victims, Zaharaddeen Ibrahim and Nura Nuhu.

Akanji said it was unfortunate that the Baptist, a church that had been at the forefront of educational development in the country, could be subjected to this kind of attack.

He said, “we have 120 students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna State in the hand of bandits, they were 121 but they have released one of them because he was very sick.

“They didn’t want him to die in their custody, so they released the boy, alongside two people who got their ransom paid to the bandits.

“They took this young boy who was sick and told him to also follow them. There are 120 other students in the hand of the bandits and the bandits are requesting a huge amount of money for ransom.

“Where do the bandits want the parents to get the money from? You know parents have no money, that’s why they have even taken their children to that school.

” Some parents have two children and some have three children with bandits. We have spoken with the government, they said they have spoken with security agencies but they are still not able to get them, the bandits are making all kinds of demands that they should go and bring food, bags of rice, bags of garri.

“So if you can take food to them you elongate the stay of the children in their arms and these are the kind of things banditry itself.

“We are praying to God, we are also continuously watching and waiting for the release of the children. Banditry is a business that is being done at the risk of the lives of other people and the pain of other people. This is so inhuman and we pray that it will discontinue in Nigeria.”