Group of Chibok schoolgirls are released from captivity
The Nigerian government says 21 of the Chibok
schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014
have been freed in negotiations with the insurgents,
according to reports from media outlets today
including the Associated Press and ABC News. The
negotiations were carried out with help from the
International Committee of the Red Cross and the
Swiss government.
Church of the Brethren staff have received confirmation of this news from Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). EYN president Joel S. Billi sent confirmation after he talked with Chibok parents and the Bring Back Our Girls organization in Nigeria. The majority of the girls abducted from the school in Chibok are from Nigerian Brethren families.
“We receive this news with great joy,” said Jay Wittmeyer, executive director of Global Mission and Service. “As a church we have been in active prayer for these individuals since their abduction. Congregations continue to pray specifically for each girl. Jesus said that we should pray always and not lose heart and we have steadfastly been doing so and we will continue to do so.
“We also express gratitude to all parties involved in this negotiated release. We know that both the IRC and the Swiss government have been actively involved in working toward peace and relief in Nigeria in many ways, and we are not surprised that they have been involved in this settlement.
“We do continue to call for the release of all individuals held against their will,” Wittmeyer said, “not just those from Chibok.”
Some 197 of the Chibok students remain in Boko Haram hands, and “it is not known how many of them may have died,” said the AP report, as published on AllAfrica.com. According to AP, the freed girls are in the custody of Nigeria’s Department of State Services, which is the country’s intelligence agency. Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu told the AP that talks will continue for the release of the rest of the Chibok girls.
Church of the Brethren Newsline
October 13, 2016
Church of the Brethren staff have received confirmation of this news from Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). EYN president Joel S. Billi sent confirmation after he talked with Chibok parents and the Bring Back Our Girls organization in Nigeria. The majority of the girls abducted from the school in Chibok are from Nigerian Brethren families.
“We receive this news with great joy,” said Jay Wittmeyer, executive director of Global Mission and Service. “As a church we have been in active prayer for these individuals since their abduction. Congregations continue to pray specifically for each girl. Jesus said that we should pray always and not lose heart and we have steadfastly been doing so and we will continue to do so.
“We also express gratitude to all parties involved in this negotiated release. We know that both the IRC and the Swiss government have been actively involved in working toward peace and relief in Nigeria in many ways, and we are not surprised that they have been involved in this settlement.
“We do continue to call for the release of all individuals held against their will,” Wittmeyer said, “not just those from Chibok.”
Some 197 of the Chibok students remain in Boko Haram hands, and “it is not known how many of them may have died,” said the AP report, as published on AllAfrica.com. According to AP, the freed girls are in the custody of Nigeria’s Department of State Services, which is the country’s intelligence agency. Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu told the AP that talks will continue for the release of the rest of the Chibok girls.
Church of the Brethren Newsline
October 13, 2016
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