Praise God, just before Christmas, 130 children and teachers of the more than 300 taken from St. Mary’s School in Niger state, Nigeria were released!
On November 22, terrorists stormed the Catholic primary and secondary school in Papiri, abducting 303 children and 12 teachers. About 50 children escaped shortly after the kidnapping, and security forces rescued another 100 a few days later.
On December 9, Dede Laugesen, president of Save the Persecuted Christians (STPC), released a special prayer song, co-written by Oleg Atbashian, for the St. Mary’s children still held captive — “Bring the Children Home This Christmas.” Two weeks later, the last batch of captives gained their freedom, although it is still unclear whether the original number of captives was incorrect, or if all those taken are now home.
STPC also released another Christmas song, “Leah, Did You Know,” for Leah Sharibu, abducted at age 14, along with more than 100 other teens, from the Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe state by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in 2018. Most of the girls were later released, but Leah refused to renounce her faith in Jesus, and is still held captive by Muslim terrorists. (Truth Nigeria, December 24, 2025)
Let’s continue to pray for Leah and all Christians and others held by terrorists in Nigeria to be freed and terrorism stopped completely. Go to our Nigeria page to pray specifically for this and for President Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu, who has promised greater security presence in the region where these attacks occurred.
Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” due to persecution of Christians, which has put pressure on Nigeria’s president to step up the fight against terrorists in his country.
Lord, thank You for all those taken from St. Mary’s who are now home. Please be with them now in powerful ways, healing their bodies, minds and hearts, and comforting them with Your love. Rescue Leah and all others who remain captive to terrorists. Surround them with Your angel armies, so clearly visible to the guards that they drop their weapons in fear of the Lord and either abandon the hostages and run, or fall to their knees before You in repentance. Don’t let any of the terrorists get away with evil, but bring them to justice or to salvation. Give them dreams of Jesus calling them to salvation. Talk to them every moment of the day, overturning enemy plans. Get up in their face. Invade their space. Fill them with such remorse and repulsion over their evil deeds they turn to You and bring hundreds more with them from darkness to Light. Be a Shield around every believer in all of Nigeria. Make the way for the violence to end. Give Nigeria’s Muslim President Tinubu and all government, military and other leaders a deep hunger for You, O God, and show them the way to salvation. Give them wisdom, courage, resources, effective intelligence and everything they need to find every terrorist and cell and defeat them. Give President Trump wisdom, as well, to know how to encourage or challenge Tinubu to eliminate terrorism and provide safety and religious freedom for their citizens. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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