A clarion call—just 1 minute prayers offered for them can make a difference!

“WORLD ARISE AGAINST TERRORISM’’ is making a clarion call to all Churches, Pastors, religious leaders , Christians and other religious bodies and denominations to take a few minutes today to pray for the release and safe return of the 276 school girls that were taken hostage by BOKUHARAM over three weeks ago.

The girls who were abducted on April 14, 2014 were part of students boarded at the Government Girls’ Secondary School, GGSS, Chibok, Borno State for the West African School Certificate, (WASSCE) examinations.

Apparently, the United States, Britain, France and China have offered to help rescue the stolen girls. Obama said the team that had been sent to Nigeria comprised personnel from military, law enforcement and other agencies.

France had promised to station 3,000 troops in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries to help fight militants in the Sahel region. British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities will also be used, and China has promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network.

Meanwhile in a statement yesterday, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said, “a team of UK experts who will advise and support the Nigerian authorities in its response to the abduction of the school girls have already touched down in Abuja, Nigeria”.

The team will be considering not just the recent incidents but also longer-term counter-terrorism solutions to prevent such attacks in the future and defeat Boko Haram. They will be working closely with their US counterparts and others to coordinate efforts.

Just after three days of their intervention, there were indications yesterday that the 276 female students abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from the Government Girls’ Secondary School, GGSS, Chibok, Borno State, have been sited at the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, by the Special Forces of the United States Marines.

This is certainly a good news that should bring a sigh of relief especially when rumours and speculations have been spreading round the globe that these girls have already been killed or sold into slavery. However, this news though exciting, should not make us relent in our quest to ensuring their safe return. It’s a call for more payers to be made so that as the US marines and Allied forces do their operations, the lives of these children will remain secured and unhurt by these terrorists.

Without prejudice, any of these kids could have been our daughters, sisters or nieces, so we all have a moral responsibility to do whatever we can to ensure their safe return. At the very least, we can offer prayers for them.

At the moment, we can picture in our mind’s eye what the situation is currently like for these children whose ages rank between 16 and 21 years. Please imagine for once! These children are all girls and have been in the forests with these heartless terrorists for over three weeks now… Have you thought about what they will be eating, their clothes, their health, their hygiene as girls at puberty? What about issues of rape and sexual abuse, snake bites, injuries and psychological trauma and exhaustion … the list goes on …

Of a truth, their blood will certainly be on our heads if we fail as a world to do something, at the very least to PRAY. GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU DO.

MAY THE GOOD LORD BE THEIR BANNER AND DEFENCE EVEN IN THIS TRYING TIMES OF THEIR LIVES.

By Rashid Justice Dumbuya

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