Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has raised a fresh alarm over the country’s deteriorating security situation, warning that Nigeria is fast becoming a “killing field” amid rising cases of banditry, kidnappings and violent attacks across several states. The Christian body made the declaration on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at the conclusion of its three‑day national fasting and prayer programme held from May 22 to May 24 to mark Global Pentecost Day. The fellowship’s National President, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, who addressed journalists in Ibadan at the close of the exercise, said Nigeria had reached an “intolerable” level of insecurity and that the nation had “lost its sense of value for human life and its sanctity.”
The alarm came just hours after armed bandits struck at Ori‑Oke Ajaiye, on the outskirts of Ikiran village in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, killing three worshippers and abducting 15 others during a night vigil. The attack occurred at about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 23, 2026, while church members were observing the vigil. According to the Kwara State Police Command, the incident was reported on May 24, 2026, by Pastor Adebayo Abiodun of Ijo Ajaiye Ati Igbala, Ekerin Village. The pastor told police that the attackers invaded the prayer ground, fired sporadically, killed three persons and dragged fifteen others to an unknown destination. The police have launched a rescue operation, deploying a drone team and other tactical assets, but as of Monday, May 25, the 15 abducted worshippers had not been located.
Bishop Wale Oke, in his address, lamented that several states, including Oyo, Benue and Plateau, have effectively become “killing fields.” The fellowship cited the prolonged captivity of the Chibok schoolgirls – with 87 of the 276 girls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014, still missing – as well as the continued abduction of Leah Sharibu, who remains in Boko Haram captivity for allegedly refusing to renounce her Christian faith. The PFN also referenced the mob killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto over alleged blasphemy, describing the failure to bring perpetrators to justice as a national shame.
The fellowship expressed particular concern over the recent abduction of teachers and students in Oyo State, where armed bandits invaded three schools in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15, 2026, abducting 46 pupils and teachers. One of the victims, a mathematics teacher identified as Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded by his captors in a viral video, while another teacher was shot dead. The attack sent shockwaves across the South‑West, and as of May 25, many of the abducted victims remain in captivity.
The PFN warned that the pattern of killings, abductions and repeated attacks across different regions of the country reflects not only a security failure but also a moral and governance crisis requiring urgent national attention. Bishop Oke accused political leaders of focusing more attention on elections and political calculations than on addressing the worsening security crisis, declaring that “Our valiant generals and gallant soldiers are being killed like chickens because our security system has been infiltrated and fatally compromised.” The fellowship also condemned the rehabilitation of so‑called “repentant” Boko Haram insurgents, alleging that some have been integrated into the nation’s security architecture, a development it said raises serious questions about national security integrity.
The PFN noted that the pattern of violence has spread beyond traditional hotspots in the North‑East and North‑West into previously considered safe zones in the South‑West, with states such as Kwara, Edo, Ondo, Kogi and Taraba also experiencing sustained attacks. Several communities in Kwara State have reportedly been displaced following bandit incursions. The fellowship quoted what it described as a “chilling” statistic: an estimated 2.2 million kidnapping incidents were recorded in a single year, with ransom payments estimated at N2.2 trillion, reflecting the emergence of a well‑organised “ransom economy” driven by banditry, kidnapping syndicates and insurgent networks.
In his remarks, Bishop Oke disclosed that the PFN had consistently restrained aggrieved Christian youth from retaliatory violence despite repeated attacks, killings and abductions. He warned that Nigeria could have slipped into full‑scale conflict had religious leaders failed to calm tensions and discourage reprisals. However, he noted that the worsening insecurity had become unbearable for many Nigerians.
Speaking at the national level, the PFN president, joined by state chairmen of the fellowship, expressed deep concern over what they described as the worsening loss of human life and the growing normalisation of violence across the country. Bishop Wale Oke said the level of insecurity in Nigeria had reached an intolerable point, warning that citizens were increasingly living in fear as killings and abductions continue unabated in several parts of the federation. The PFN has urged the Federal Government to fulfil its constitutional responsibility of protecting citizens regardless of tribe or religion and called on authorities to seek international support in combating insecurity.
“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 and savage killings across the Nigerian landscape has risen to an intolerable height,” the PFN said in a statement. “We have fasted. We have prayed. Now we speak.” The fellowship urged churches nationwide to unite in prayer, repentance and advocacy against violence, insisting that silence only empowers killers and their sponsors. “Nigeria is facing a deepening crisis of insecurity that had reached ‘intolerable and unacceptable levels’,” the PFN warned, adding that the nation appeared to have lost a collective sense of value for human life.
As of Monday, May 25, the 15 abducted worshippers in Kwara State remain in captivity. The Kwara State Police Command, under Commissioner of Police Ojo Adekimi, has intensified bush‑combing operations and intelligence gathering across surrounding forests. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and no arrests have been reported. The PFN’s three‑day national fast, which coincided with Global Pentecost Day, concluded with a united national prayer assembly in each state, but the fellowship made it clear that prayers alone are not enough. “Nigeria is gradually losing its sense of humanity,” the PFN declared, demanding that authorities take immediate and decisive action to end the cycle of violence.
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