The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) on Sunday, May 24, 2026, concluded a three-day national fasting and prayer exercise proclaimed for the nation amid escalating violence and insecurity. The program, which coincided with the Global Pentecost Day, saw Christian leaders across the country intercede for divine intervention. In a strongly worded speech delivered by the PFN leadership, the body expressed deep burden over the erosion of the sanctity of human life in Nigeria.
PFN National President, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, alongside state chairmen, highlighted the intolerable surge in banditry, kidnapping, and savage killings across the country. The leaders lamented that many Nigerians now live in constant fear due to the activities of insurgents and criminal elements. They noted that the situation has fractured national unity and driven away both investors and talented citizens.
The speech singled out several high-profile cases that remain unresolved years after they occurred. Among them are the remaining Chibok schoolgirls still in Boko Haram captivity and Leah Sharibu, who has been held in bondage for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. The leaders also recalled the gruesome lynching of student Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, stating that her killers faced no justice.
According to the PFN, states such as Taraba, Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, Edo, Kogi, Ondo, and Kwara have become killing fields where innocent citizens are regularly attacked. In Oyo State, the abduction of teachers and students recently culminated in the beheading of Mr. Michael Oyedokun and the shooting of another teacher. Similar atrocities were reported in Borno, Niger, Sokoto, and Kaduna states, where communities have been sacked by heavily armed bandits.
The Christian body expressed particular concern over the activities of murderous herdsmen attacking farmers on their lands and Boko Haram insurgents using religion as a cover for violence. They criticized what they described as the unchecked rampage of these groups across the Nigerian landscape. The leaders mourned the apparent lack of firm political will by the government to decisively tackle these security challenges.
The PFN condemned the government’s policy of rehabilitating “repentant” Boko Haram members and even integrating some into security networks while innocent citizens continue to die. They observed that political elites appear more focused on winning elections than on protecting lives. The leaders described the normalization of violence as a dangerous trend that weakens the bond between citizens and the state.
Following deliberations at the National Executive Council meeting on May 19, 2026, the PFN resolved to engage in spiritual warfare through fasting and prayer while also speaking out against the evils. They called on the Federal Government to fulfill its constitutional duty of protecting every citizen regardless of tribe or religion. The body urged the government to seek international partnership and assistance before the situation deteriorates further.
The PFN also issued a call to the Nigerian church to stand in unity, rise against evil, engage in repentance and prayer, and speak with one voice. They emphasized the need for the church to defend the faith and protect church communities. The leaders stressed that silence in the face of killings only aids the perpetrators and their sponsors.
Bishop Oke concluded with prayers for God to intervene, rescue captives, break the cycle of violence, forgive national sins, and heal the land. The PFN expressed hope that the blood of the innocent would compel immediate and effective government action to restore peace to Nigeria.
Read full speech…
SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT AND
STATE CHAIRMEN OF PENTECOSTAL FELLOWSHIP OF
NIGERIA (PFN) TO CONCLUDE THE THREE DAYS OF
NATIONAL FASTING AND PRAYER FROM FRIDAY MAY 22ND
– SUNDAY MAY 24TH, 2026 (THE GLOBAL PENTECOST DAY)
Fellow Nigerians,
Gentlemen of the Press.
Today marks the end of our three days of national fasting and prayer for
Nigeria, our dear country, as proclaimed by the Pentecostal Fellowship of
Nigeria (PFN).
We are burdened for Nigeria today because we have lost our sense of value
for human life and its sanctity.
The level of banditry, kidnapping, violence, insecurity and savage killings all
across the Nigerian landscape has risen to an intolerable height such that
every Nigerian should cry out against it to God for divine intervention, and
to our governments for immediate and effective action.
Several Chibok girls are still languishing in captivity, years after being
massively kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents. Leah Sharibu is still
shackled in bondage by religious kidnappers because she refused to
renounce her Christian faith. And the Nigeria state did nothing. Student
Deborah Samuel was burnt to death in Sokoto by a murderous mob simply
for mentioning the name of Jesus and nothing happened to her killers.
Since then, Taraba, Plateau, Benue states and Southern Kaduna have become daily killing fields. Edo, Kogi and Ondo states have also not been spared. As of today, several communities in Kwara State have been sacked by rampaging bandits, wielding sophisticated guns and other dangerous weapons.
Innocent people were kidnapped, raped and killed again and again in large
numbers in Borno, Niger, Sokoto, Kaduna and other states of the federation.
Oyo State has become the latest killing field, culminating in the abduction of
several teachers and students, with one of the teachers, Mr Michael
Oyedokun, gruesomely beheaded and another one shot dead. While these
satanic acts were going on, our political elites continued with business as
usual as though nothing was happening.
These are unspeakable and
despicable acts of terror.
We are burdened for the loss of our sense of humanity. We are burdened for
the unchecked rampaging of bandits, murderous herdsmen killing Nigerian
farmers on their farms, Boko Haram insurgents using the noble religion of
Islam to perpetrate heinous violence against peaceful Nigerians, unchecked,
across our national landscape.
Most especially, we mourn the apparent lack of a firm political will by our
government to crush these horrible evils in Nigeria, allowing it to spread unchecked, with empty promises that have done no good.
Nigerians are sick and tired of this evil and the apparent misplaced focus on
winning elections by all means rather than focusing the full weight of our
law and federal might to crush the killers of Nigerians. Rather than doing this,
our governments are “rehabilitating” our so-called “repentant” Boko Haram
killers, even drafting them into our security network.
We are burdened because this intolerable violence is becoming normal in
Nigeria!
We are burdened because our valiant Generals and their gallant soldiers are
being killed like chickens because our security system has been infiltrated
and fatally compromised.
What is going on in Nigeria do more than take lives. It fractures unity, scares
away investors, drives our best minds abroad, weakens the bond between
the citizens and the State and creates a wave of insecurity and terror that
make the Nigerian people no longer feel safe.
On the night of 19th May 2026, the National Executive Council of the
Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria met for prayer and deliberations on what
is going on in Nigeria. We resolved as a Pentecostal community spread
across every state of Nigeria to stand together in spiritual warfare, to fast,
and pray to God our Amighty Father to arise and scatter the enemies of
Nigeria. We also resolved to speak out against this evil, hoping that our
government will give it a deserved attention.
We have fasted. We have prayed. Now we speak.
We call on the Federal Government to fulfil its constitutional and moral duty
of protecting every citizen of Nigeria irrespective of tribe or religion, so that
we can truly be “a nation where no one is oppressed’’. This is the first
responsibility of governance. We urge our government to seek for help and
partnership from the international community before it is too late.
We call on the church in Nigeria to;
– Stand together in unity and rise against the evil ravaging our country.
– cry out in repentance and prayer, calling the God of heaven to intervene in the affairs of our nation
– speak with one voice so loudly so that governments at all levels can feel our pain and sorrows and move decisively to stop this evil and
– defend our faith and our Churches.
We fast and pray because we believe God hears. We gather because unity
strengthens our voice. We speak because silence aids the killer and their
sponsors.
The blood of the innocent demands more than promises. It demands
immediate effective action. We believe that God is able and will break the
vicious cycles of violence, grant our prayer for the rescue of the captives,
and restore peace in our country Nigeria.
May God in His great mercy take note of our fasting and prayer and forgive
our sins and heal our land.
May the Almighty God turn our burden into dancing again.
May God in His great mercy help, deliver and bless Nigeria, our dear country.
Bishop Francis Wale Oke,
National President (PFN)
May, 2026.
