…says political elites more focused on winning polls than crushing killers of Nigerians

By OLAYINKA LATONA

LAGOS – The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has accused the nation’s political leadership of misplaced priorities, charging that those in power are more preoccupied with winning elections than with crushing the bandits, Boko Haram insurgents and killer herdsmen terrorising innocent citizens across the country.

The Christian body, which just concluded a three-day national fasting and prayer session from Friday, May 22 to Sunday, May 24, 2026 (Global Pentecost Day), also condemned the Federal Government’s policy of rehabilitating so-called “repentant” Boko Haram fighters and even drafting them into the nation’s security network.

The PFN National President, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, lamented that Nigeria has “lost its sense of value for human life and its sanctity.”

Speaking on behalf of the PFN national president, Pastor Yemi Davids, Chairman of PFN Lagos chapter said: “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.”

The fellowship expressed particular outrage over events in Oyo State, where teachers and students were recently abducted, with one teacher, Mr. Michael Oyedokun, gruesomely beheaded and another shot dead.

The Fellowship said: “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.

The PFN catalogued a litany of atrocities, noting that several Chibok girls remain in captivity years after their mass abduction, and that Leah Sharibu is still shackled in bondage because she refused to renounce her Christian faith – “and the Nigeria state did nothing.”

The body also recalled the mob killing of student Deborah Samuel in Sokoto for mentioning the name of Jesus, asking why her killers have not faced justice. It pointed to bloodletting in Taraba, Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, Edo, Kogi, Ondo, and the recent sack of several communities in Kwara State by rampaging bandits.

The fellowship called on the Federal Government to fulfil its constitutional duty of protecting every citizen regardless of tribe or religion, and urged the government to seek help and partnership from the international community “before it is too late.”

The PFN also appealed to the church in Nigeria to stand united, cry out in repentance and prayer, speak with one voice, and defend their faith and churches.

“The blood of the innocent demands more than promises. It demands immediate effective action.”

Bishop Francis Wale Oke, National President of PFN, reiterated that the three days of fasting and prayer were a spiritual response to the nation’s crisis, adding: “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.”