SW News: Gunmen kidnapped dozens of children from a farm in Katsina state in northern Nigeria on Wednesday and demanded a ransom in exchange for their release, according to police and locals.

President Muhammadu Buhari hails from the state of Katsina, which is one of several in northwestern and north-central Nigeria where violent motorcycle gangs have killed or abducted individuals from villages and highways in exchange for ransom. Police acknowledged the kidnapping of the children but provided no further information. A local chief from the area claimed that the assailants were demanding a ransom of 30 million Naira ($68,435).

Police said there were at least 22 missing children. According to a resident who requested anonymity, just four of the children are boys and the remainder are girls under the age of fourteen. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), northern Nigeria has reported that the greatest percentage of children are not attending school in the nation. Some states there regularly employ minors as farm laborers.

Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) declared November 4, as a national day of prayer to seek God’s intervention in the affairs of Nigeria. In a statement released by Archbishop John Daniel, the chairman of the National Prayer Day Committee for CAN, all Nigerian Christians were urged to seek God's assistance and thwart malicious schemes against the nation. Despite having ample natural, human, and material resources, the Archbishop said, “We think this is crucial because Nigeria is currently experiencing extraordinarily challenging conditions.”

Nigeria has the highest number of atrocities against Christians, including murders, because of their religion. In the country's north and central belt, as well as in the south, violent attacks by Boko Haram, Hausa-Fulani Muslim militant herdsmen, ISWAP (an affiliate of ISIS), and other Islamic extremist groups are frequent.

Christians are often killed in these attacks or have their possessions and means of support destroyed. Boys and men are particularly at risk for murder. The women and children who were left behind are extremely vulnerable and serve as living proof of the assailants' might.

Perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. These violent gangs frequently kidnap and rape Christian women, and they occasionally force them to marry Muslims.