Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). COURTESY PHOTO.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has declared three days of prayer and fasting starting 31 January, 2020 in wake of extremist violence against believers in Christ across the west African nation.
In a statement released by Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) on Monday, Rev (Dr) Supo Ayokunle, the President of CAN noted that “every local church is to observe” this fasting period.
“CAN has declared three days of prayer and fasting to save Nigeria and Christians in particular from being consumed by insurgents, Islamic terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and ritualistic all over our states. The fasting and prayer is from January 31-2nd of February, 2020,” Rev (Dr) Supo Ayokunle said.
“If possible, local churches should meet in the evening of each day of fasting to pray together,” he added.
On 2 February, 2020, Ayokunle said there will be prayer walk around each church’s locality pronouncing Jesus, the Prince of Peace as Lord.
On the same day, believers will also be expected to carry placards saying ‘No’ to further killings and “demanding that the Federal & State governments should rise up to their responsibility of securing the Lives and property of their citizens.”
The development comes days after Christian pastor Rev Lawan Andimi, a leading person in the Christian Association of Nigeria, was abducted and beheaded by the Boko Haram terror group.
The execution, which is one of the latest atrocities in a long and painful history of extremist violence in Nigeria, also impelled Christian leaders to petition the government.
“If the clergy are targeted, ordinary community members are even more at risk.” said the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) general secretary Rev. Dr Martin Junge, in a join statement with World Council of Churches condemning the murder of Christians.
A recent report into the persecution of Nigeria’s Christian community found that around 1,000 believers were killed by Islamic militants during 2019 alone.
Released by the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), the report said the exact number of Christians killed by Islamic militants Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen was unknown, though the data suggests the figure to be sitting at around 1,000 for the year 2019.
The organization believes that some 6,000 have been killed since 2015, and with an additional 12,000 displaced.
Nigeria ranks as the 12th worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution on Open Doors USA’s 2020 World Watch List. Open Doors USA CEO David Curry warned during a press event last week that the rise of Islamic extremism in Nigeria is spilling over into Cameroon and Burkina Faso, according to the Christian Post.
The U.S. State Department added Nigeria for the first time to its “special watch list” of countries that tolerate severe religious freedom violations in December.
“We are designating [Nigeria] special watch list for the first time because of all of the increasing violence and communal activity and the lack of effective government response and the lack of judicial cases being brought forward in that country,” U.S. Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said, according to the Christian Post.
“It is a dangerous situation in too many parts of Nigeria. The government has either not been willing to or have been ineffective in their response and the violence continues to grow.”
