The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has released names of 165 Christian female students and 15 Muslim females abducted by Boko Haram insurgents almost two weeks ago.
In a statement issued yesterday, in Abuja by the body and signed by Evangelist Matthew Owojaiye, President/Founder of Old Time Revival Hour, Kaduna and immediate-past chairman of Northern States Christian and Elders Forum (NOCSEF), an affiliate of CAN, the body said majority of the abducted girls are Christians.
See CAN’s list of abducted girls
It further alleged that the girls taken captive would be treated as slaves and sold into marriage to ‘unclean’ people.
“An abomination has been committed,” Owojaiye said in the statement, adding that “it is a shame on the Church of the Living God.”
Meanwhile, Military troops bombarded a suspected Boko Haram hideout in a village at the outskirts of Maiduguri weekend, in a counter attack to halt further killings by the insurgents.
The troops said they launched a counter attack on the sect members with mortal shell, after they attacked some residents of Margimari village at the outskirts of Maiuguri in Borno.
“Troops on receiving distress call at about 2am this morning (Saturday) launched a counter attack using mainly mortar shells on a group of terrorists, who had attacked and killed four persons in Margimari village and other settlements in the outskirts of Maiduguri,” Director Defence Information/Coordinator, Joint Information Centre, Counter Terrorism Campaign North-East Nigeria, Maj Gen Chris Olukolade said weekend in a statement released to newsmen in Maiduguri.
Olukolade said there was no fighting or attack around the University of Maiduguri or any barrack in the metropolis as reported by some international media.
He also said that a foreigner, one Usman, who was suspected to be operating with the Boko Haram terrorists around Lake Chad was apprehended by the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) at the Nigerian border in Borno.
“He was apprehended by the Task Force while trying to extract a ransom from herdsmen and farmers in the area, after an earlier attack on the community,” the defence spokesman said.
Olukolade said that in Plateau, troops of the Special Task Force (STF) raided a camp maintained by an armed gang operating in Shendam Local Government Area of the State. He disclosed that a gun fabricating machine and some arms and ammunition were recovered from the spot.
“Also recovered during the raid, were local single barrel guns, pistols, an automatic rifle, bullet pellets and a large quantity of materials for producing gun powder,” he added.
He said that the raid yielded good result as the military got vital details to track down the operators of the gun fabricating hideout, now at large.
