Displaying items by tag: Nigeria

An event designed for entrepreneurs and business owners looking for ways to grow and export their products into the UK market is to be held on 6 March. The workshop is aimed at people who want to learn strategies and practical skills so that they can plan for export for future trade in the United Kingdom. This particular event is targeting Nigerians, but it is recognised that similar events need to be organised elsewhere and be available to businesses wanting overseas trading opportunities with the UK post-Brexit. Pray for this type of event to be multiplied across the nations, to enable men and women in manufacturing, information technology, and other enterprises to enter new UK markets.

From: Pastor Austen Ukachi, Lagos, Nigeria | IPC Leadership Team

You are probably as shocked as I was to learn of the spate of attacks and deaths that greeted the New Year in Nigeria.

Worshippers who had just had Crossover Service in their church in Omoku, Rivers State, were gruesomely murdered by heartless cultists. Over 15 people, including innocent women and children, were cut down in a hail of bullets. As if that was not enough, the following day, we heard how Fulani Herdsmen invaded villages in Guma and Logo Local Governments in Benue State and killed several people (some speculate over 50!) and destroyed houses and properties.

The government seems to be powerless and have been accused of being impervious to the sufferings of the people. The security agencies appear to be so desensitized that you wonder if they still have value for human lives. But we cannot fold our hands and let this continue, it’s time to rise as intercessors and pray.

The following prayer points are only a guide. May the Lord bring us to the depth of prayers that will stem this rising tide of violence in our nation.

1. Fulani Herdsmen are rated as the 4th most deadly terror group on the Global Terrorism Index, yet the government does not seem to be concerned about the daily destruction they cause to lives and properties. Let’s pray that God will stir up a national and international outcry against this group.
2. Ask God to release His plans to reverse wicked evil political actions that have led to the murder of innocent lives across the nation (especially government’s inaction concerning the destruction of lives and properties by the Fulani herdsmen)
3. People in Guma and Logo Local Government in Benue State have been thrown into mourning following the invasion by the herdsmen, which led to the death of tens of people. Let’s pray that those who carried out this attack will be caught and judged.
4. The activities of the herdsmen now extend to virtually every part of the country. There are speculations that it is a modern form of jihad. Let’s pray that God will expose community leaders in the South who are conniving with them
5. Let’s pray that the Middle Belt states would be undeterred in implementing the anti-grazing bills that have been passed in some of the states. Pray that they will not be intimidated by the antics of the herders
6. Pray for the prosecution of the leaders of Miyetti Allah in Benue State who promised to cause mayhem in the state. Pray that the government will be bold enough to bring this man and his group to justice
7. Let’s pray that the National Assembly will now see the need to pass laws that will curtail the activities of the Fulani herders. Pray that the Open Grazing Bill will be frustrated and thrown out.
8. Let’s pray that these communities will not be intimidated. Rather, may the Lord strengthen their resistance against the Islamic agenda
9. Pray concerning the state of insecurity in Rivers State, especially Omoku and its environs. Let’s pray that the group that carried out the recent massacre will be arrested and judged
10. These were people returning from Crossover service in a church. Let’s pray that God will arise and judge those who perpetrated this mayhem on innocent worshippers
11. The violence in Omoku (and most of Rivers State) has their root in cult conflicts. Let’s pray that God will rain judgment on these cults and those behind them
12. The acrimonious politics of Rivers State has created an environment that engenders violence. Let’s pray that God would restrain Governor Nyesom Wike and Hon Chibuike Amaechi, that they will begin to work for the peace and welfare of the state
13. Let’s pray that God will comfort and encourage families who lost loved ones in the carnage. Let’s pray that God would use this situation to bring salvation to the community.

More at www.pray4nigeria.org

Pastor Austen Ukachi

A respected Lagos church leader reports that worshippers in their church in Rivers State were gruesomely murdered by heartless cultists. 15+ people, including women and children, were cut down in a hail of bullets. The following day Fulani herdsmen invaded villages, killed an estimated 50+, and destroyed houses and properties. The government appears powerless, and has been accused of being impervious to people’s sufferings. The security agencies seem so desensitised that you wonder if they still value human lives. But we cannot fold our hands and let this continue, it is time to rise as intercessors and pray. For suggested prayer points to guide your prayers for Nigeria please click the ‘More’ button.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has urged the government to declare the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) a terrorist organisation. Stating they should be prosecuted for genocide against the Christian minorities, Rev Dr Musa Asake said, ‘We make bold to say that Nigeria’s security system has become dysfunctional. This is shown by the inability of the various security arms to wrestle to the ground those threatening the existence of Christians and other innocent citizens in Nigeria. They have not produced an efficient system to overwhelm the resurgence of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen who are prowling villages, shooting and killing innocent Christians.’ Asake said MACBAN is not a business group; it combines bloodshed with enterprise, and the Fulani herdsmen are clearly associated with it. For the full press report see

Caught in a Niger Delta downpour, a woman runs for shelter. The plastic bottles of homemade petrol she was selling are beaten off their wooden perch by the heavy rain. The smell of petrol rises from the ground and hangs in the air before being washed down a lane past small concrete houses. There is little research into human health issues from exposure to oil spills on land. Oil seeps into the soil, the air and the water table, releasing harmful chemicals like benzene and toluene. Benzene is a poison, while toluene can cause kidney and liver damage. ‘Our farming area is always deep with oil, when you go there you can recognise the odour,’ says Chief Bira Saturday. He has suffered from asthma since a spill. ‘The doctor said it was the odour of this oil that we are breathing that damaged the baby in my womb’, his wife added.

‘I watched Fulani kill and burn homes with glee. Numan region belongs to us. If the government cannot protect us, then we will protect our land and our heritage. It is all we have to hand on to our children’, said Pwanedo Justin after fleeing his village. The government’s inability to address the plight of Christians, and policies where Muslim victims are given priority over Christian ones, have deepened the sense of injustice. This recent attack was a reaction to a massacre in three villages by Bachama youths. Bachama are predominantly Christian. The Fulani are heavily armed with sophisticated weapons, which are believed to come from outside Nigeria. Thousands were displaced and are now missing. These attacks remain the single most dangerous threat to Nigeria today. On 19 December the federal government announced it will spend $1bn on fighting insurgency.

On 13 October four Britons were snatched by gunmen in Nigeria’s southern Delta state. The region holds most of the country’s crude oil and is Nigeria’s economic mainstay. Kidnapping for ransom is common in parts of Nigeria, and several foreigners have been taken in the past few years. The abductors have not yet made contact. Those kidnapped are reported to be former GP David Donovan and his wife Shirley who run New Foundations, with their two sons. They have run Bible classes, a boat clinic and health care centre there for fourteen years. Four suspects have been arrested, and a joint task force will attempt to rescue the family . Travellers to Nigeria are currently warned to avoid going to areas of Delta state. See:

On 30 August, foreign secretary Boris Johnson and international development secretary Priti Patel visited Nigeria to assess British assistance in the fight against the Islamic terror group Boko Haram. A Nigerian special adviser on religious affairs, Canon Nenman Gowon, said, ‘While the attention of the British government and other international development agencies is turned to the devastation caused by Boko Haram in the northeast, very little or nothing is even mentioned about the hundreds of villages and people killed by the Islamic Fulani cattle herders who are still prowling Plateau, Adamawa, Taraba, and other states.’ The adviser blamed the president for turning a blind eye to the crises in Nigeria’s middle belt, ‘because it is a predominantly Christian region and the Fulani Muslims are of the president’s tribe’.

In 1966 an Igbo leader, in south-east Nigeria, said that only one thing would prevent a civil war - ‘that Nigeria be split, with all southerners in the north repatriated to the south and northerners in the south repatriated to the north’. This demand was followed by the Biafra civil war. In June 2017, irked by renewed secessionist calls from the same Igbo ethnic group, a coalition of northern groups demanded that ‘all Igbo currently residing in northern Nigeria relocate within three months, and all northerners residing in the east are advised likewise’. Pray for peace. Meanwhile on 6 August, masked gunmen stormed into the early morning service at a church in the southeast and opened fire, killing 35 Christians. On Tuesday a woman suicide bomber blew herself up and killed 27 others at a market in the northeast. See http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/dead-nigeria-church-shooting-170806153758051.html and https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-security-idUSKCN1AV25K

Africa's Sahara desert is increasingly encroaching upon traditional farmlands. Muslim Fulani herdsmen, the largest nomadic tribe in Africa, are desperate for grazing land and water for their cattle, but farmers can't tolerate their crops being eaten, trampled, and destroyed by those cattle. This conflict for survival gives rise to violence. The mainly Christian Nigerian farmers have no defence against marauding herdsmen wielding guns and machetes. The central Christian area of Nigeria was once the main target, but with increasing desert encroachment, more areas are targeted. The Fulani are now even more of a threat than Boko Haram insurgents. Farmers are being slaughtered, and some are considering abandoning their farms. AK-47 assault rifles from the conflicts in neighbouring Libya and Mali come across porous borders. A recent anti-grazing law has failed to stop the Fulani. President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani, has ordered military crackdowns on them. Pray for God to destroy their sources and stockpile of weapons.