The Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, David Oyedepo, has expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s worsening security situation and has called on Christians to hold coordinated midnight prayers following recent attacks on churches that left several people dead and others abducted.
Speaking during the 4th Pre-Shiloh Encounter Service on Sunday, Oyedepo described the incidents recorded in the last two weeks as “deeply troubling,” saying they required an urgent spiritual response.
He said: “Developments in the past two weeks are worrisome. We need a prompt response in prayer to stop these killings once and for all. Innocent blood is crying for justice, and the perpetrators will pay with their lives.”
Oyedepo, who reminded the congregation of earlier warnings he said he had issued over the past 15 years, stressed his commitment to Nigeria.
“No one is more Nigerian than I am. We all know power passes power, but no power passes the power of God,” he said.
He directed all members of the church to pray between midnight and 1 a.m., describing it as a spiritual intervention against those behind the attacks.
“A church was invaded during worship people killed, people abducted and nothing happened? The God of justice is rising,” he said.
The cleric said the call for prayer was rooted in biblical teachings, noting that when God intervenes, “the pride of men is cut down.”
He added that Nigeria would not collapse into chaos and urged Christians to take the prayer assignment seriously.
A History of School Attacks
Northern Nigeria has faced repeated attacks on schools from 2009 to 2025, largely linked to Boko Haram insurgents and criminal gangs.
The first major incident occurred in July 2009 when suspected insurgents burned buildings at Success International Private School in Maiduguri. More attacks followed in 2010, including the destruction of Yerwa Primary School.
By 2012, assaults became more frequent. Schools in Maiduguri, Damaturu, Damagun, and Gombe were targeted, with classrooms, offices, and equipment destroyed. Some attacks involved theft of generators, computers, and school buses, while others left students and teachers injured or dead.
In 2013, the violence escalated. Schools in Biu, Maiduguri, and Yobe State were attacked, with students killed during exams and teachers targeted. One of the deadliest incidents occurred at the College of Agriculture, Gujba, where at least 50 students were murdered.
The year 2014 brought even more devastating attacks. Hundreds of students were killed in Buni Yadi, Gwoza, and Konduga. Female students were abducted in several towns, including the widely publicized kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014. Suicide bombings and shootings continued in Kano, Potiskum, and other cities.
In 2015, Boko Haram turned schools into operational bases, most notably occupying Zanna Mobarti Primary School in Damasak, where over 300 pupils and 200 women were detained. Suicide bombings and discoveries of bomb-making facilities added to the insecurity.
By the late 2010s and early 2020s, large-scale school kidnappings became the primary threat.
In December 2020, 344 boys were abducted from a school in Kankara, Katsina State. They were released days later after negotiations.
In February 2021, 279 girls were abducted from their school in Jangebe, Zamfara State.
Later that year, around 120 students were kidnapped from Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna, with some released immediately and others months later. By that time, nearly 1,000 students had been kidnapped nationwide since January 2021.
In March 2022, gunmen attacked an Abuja–Kaduna train, killing eight people and kidnapping dozens. A similar train attack in 2023 in southern Nigeria resulted in the abduction of about 30 passengers.
In March 2024, another major attack occurred at Kuriga High School in Kaduna, where gunmen dressed in military uniforms abducted more than 100 students. Initial figures put the number at 280, though the military later confirmed rescuing 137.
