ABUJA, Nigeria — Almost two weeks on their abduction, the ongoing disappearance of more than 200 young schoolgirls is infuriating Nigeria's leading Muslim groups, who called for prayers and intensified efforts to release the innocent girls from Boko Haram militants. “We sympathize with the victims and their teachers and families,” Nigeria’s top Muslim leader, Al-Haji Sa’ad Abubakar III, who is the sultan of Sokoto, was quoted by the Washington Post on Tuesday, April 22. “We call on the authorities to put all the needed efforts to free these innocent girls and get them continue with their studies.” Nearly 234 schoolgirls were kidnapped by the extremist militants while being at school in the Chibok area of Borno State on Monday, April 14 The abduction was widely condemned by Nigerian officials as well as religious groups. “The total number of missing students now stands at 230,” Asabe Kwambura, the principal of the state-run Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok told Bloomberg. The Muslim Media Watch Group has also condemned the incident, calling for a special prayer to free the girls. “This situation has put the whole nation in serious agony, fear and sorrow as nobody knows what has happened to the innocent girls,” Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, Muslim Media Watch national coordinator, told Nigeria’s Daily Trust. ...      Read more