Christian Solidarity Worldwide welcomes the release of 24 abducted girls but warns that unchecked impunity is fueling a wave of terror targeting Christians in northern Nigeria.
Newsroom (28/11/2025 Gaudium Press )London-based human rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has welcomed the release of 24 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School in Kebbi State, northwest Nigeria, on November 17, while sounding the alarm over a deepening security crisis marked by impunity for perpetrators.
In a report released on Wednesday, November 26, CSW chief executive Scot Bower praised Nigerian security forces for successfully securing the girls’ freedom through a joint operation involving police tactical units, military personnel, and local vigilante groups.
“CSW welcomes the release of the 24 girls abducted from their school in Kebbi State earlier this month,” Bower stated. “The reported deployment of additional police tactical units and military personnel demonstrates that the Nigerian authorities are capable of responding to terrorist threats in the region.”
Yet Bower expressed grave concern that the perpetrators remain at large. “The paucity of information surrounding rescues in which perpetrators appear to have faced no consequences is not only perplexing; it further undermines both public confidence and the rule of law,” he said.
The November 17 attack saw armed assailants scale the school walls at approximately 4 a.m., kill the assistant principal, and fatally wound a security guard who later died in hospital. Reports indicate the raid occurred shortly after a military detachment had departed the premises.
The girls’ release coincided with a series of other violent incidents across northern and central Nigeria.
In Kwara State, Reverend James Audu of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Ekati village, Patigi Local Government Area, was confirmed dead after being abducted on August 28. His captors initially demanded N100 million (approximately USD 68,706), later reduced to N5 million (USD 3,460). After receiving the negotiated ransom, the kidnappers demanded an additional N45 million (USD 31,100) and killed the pastor before further talks could occur.
On November 24, between 11 p.m. and midnight, gunmen raided Biresawa village in Tsanyawa LGA, Kano State, abducting at least eight people—two men and six women.
The following day, November 23, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) abducted thirteen girls aged 15–20 while they harvested crops in Borno State. One girl escaped; most residents have since fled the area.
The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that surging insecurity is driving unprecedented hunger in rural northern communities by preventing farmers from accessing their fields.
In a separate statement issued November 25, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) demanded decisive government action, citing recent attacks in Taraba State that killed more than 70 people, destroyed at least 300 homes, and displaced over 3,000 families in Kufai Ahmadu and Chanchanji communities of Takum LGA. The bishops attributed the violence to Fulani militia and also called for justice in the extrajudicial killing of Christian student Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State over an unproven blasphemy accusation.
CSW’s Scot Bower extended condolences to Reverend Audu’s family and congregation and urged immediate intervention.
“We call for a decisive response to the recent surge in attacks and abductions which, once again, are merely a snapshot of the violence to which Christian communities have been subjected in Nigeria’s northern and central states for over a decade,” he said.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from ACI Africa
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