Earlier this month, 280 students, aged 8 to 15, were abducted in the Northern Nigerian town of Kuriga. Boko Haram, an Islamic group, has long terrorized this region. Ten years ago, Boko Haram abducted almost the same number of schoolgirls in Chibok, most of whom were Christian.  

Though no one has claimed responsibility for the recent kidnappings, they are the latest in a long line of abuses under a complicit Nigerian government and an all-too-silent global community in the face of what some have called “Nigeria’s silent slaughter.”  

Last year, there were 3,600 reported abductions in Nigeria, and according to a 2022 Red Cross report, more than 24,000 Nigerians are registered as missing.   

There’s already been enough wake-up calls, both for the Nigeria government and the wider world. The abducted and their families need more than lip service. They need our prayers, and they need real action from the government and the global community.