Over the past months, Nigeria has been gripped by horror, fear, and persistent terror. Safe to say no part of the country is spared from the horror that envelops each region of the country, with the northern region as the worst hit zone.
According to a recent report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety), at least 7,087 Christians were massacred between January 1 and August 10, 2025, while 7,800 others were abducted, amounting to an average of 32 Christian deaths per day and 35 abductions daily.
In June 2025, the Yelwata massacre in Benue State remains fresh to many concerned citizens after gunmen reportedly killed between 100 and 200 Nigerians, and displaced about 3,000 people, many of whom sought refuge in a local Catholic mission.
More recently, within a horrific span of two weeks, between October 28 and November 11, 2025, about 101 Christians, including four clerics, were killed, while 114 were abducted, and six churches ransacked across multiple states of the country.
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“These numbers are not mere abstractions. They represent pastors and priests, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters—innocent worshippers whose lives have been violently cut short or whose families have been torn apart by fear, abduction, and destruction,” Taiwo Akinola, presiding bishop, Rhema Christian Church & Towers, said in a statement.
Akinola, who is also the Apostolic Presbyter of both the Christ Global Network (CGN) and International Communion of Charismatic & Apostolic Ministers (ICCAM), expressed deep concern over the escalating incidents of violent attacks affecting Christians, Christian communities, places of worship, and other vulnerable populations across Nigeria.
He stated that there are strong indications that Christian communities have been disproportionately affected by targeted acts of violence across Nigeria. He admittedly recognised that in some instances, victims come from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds. “We sincerely mourn them as well.”
The cleric also acknowledged the complexity of the security challenges facing Nigeria and the pressure on the country’s security architecture. But, posits that Nigeria cannot afford a security architecture that reacts only on paper while citizens bleed on the streets.
According to him, the persistent insinuations of alleged complicity by some security agents and public officials are more troubling. “My candid spiritual counsel to such compromised individuals—no matter how highly placed—is simple: fear God! Scripture declares, ‘Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered’ (Proverbs 11:21). This counsel is not only for ‘today,’ but especially for ‘tomorrow’—for indeed, tomorrow comes speedily.”
The clergyman also made an urgent call for a decisive national action on insecurity, saying that the urgency of the moment demands a more coordinated, proactive, and transparent response. He urged the Federal Government to recognise the current security challenges as a national emergency, requiring accelerated policy attention, multi-agency coordination, and the strategic deployment of resources.
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Akinola also urged the government to enhance the protection of places of worship and other vulnerable institutions through improved intelligence, strengthened security surveillance, and rapid-response mechanisms.
“Invest in early-warning systems and preventive operations, enabling security forces to disrupt attacks before they occur rather than responding only after significant harm has been done. Undertake a constructive review of Nigeria’s policing structure, including responsible considerations around decentralising aspects of policing to improve response time and local accountability.”
Akinola also urged the government to strengthen accountability mechanisms, ensuring the timely arrest, investigation, and prosecution of perpetrators—irrespective of their affiliations, motivations, or networks.
According to the cleric, leadership is exercised over living citizens, not over corpses and skeletons in graveyards. Hence, the government must depoliticise security issues, recognising that the safety of Nigerians must take precedence over political interests or electoral calculations.
Akinola also wants the government to “Broaden collaborative engagement with local communities, interfaith bodies, and international partners to address underlying drivers of violence such as radicalisation, land-related disputes, and the proliferation of arms.”
Similarly, Augustine Oghumah, Diocesan Bishop, Christ Army Church of Nigeria, Lagos Diocese, said the government is lagging in its responsibility of safeguarding the lives and property of citizens.
According to him, the government, both at the federal and state levels, must stand up to their responsibilities.
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Also, the Association of Papal Knights and Medalists in Nigeria (APKMN) also criticised the Federal Government’s ongoing deradicalisation and reintegration programmes for ‘repented’ terrorists, describing the policy as contradictory, unjust, and harmful to national security.
In a communiqué issued and jointly signed by Steve Adehi, National President, and Rosemary Azumi, the National Secretary, at the close of the Association’s 17th National Conference, stated that the action could later undermine security agencies from within, while victims remain abandoned in under-resourced IDP camps.
It therefore called for the interdiction, prosecution and adequate punishment of perpetrators of violence, as well as the resettlement of displaced persons in their ancestral homes.
Themed, ‘Faith, Hope and Charity in Contemporary Societies,’ the Papal honourees also warned that the erosion of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity has contributed to widespread national instability.
