Armed men stormed a church at Attagara village in Gwoza at 9:30 on Sunday morning and opened fire. The church had members working as a security group outside the church when a service was going on. Nine of the men in the church security group were shot dead. The killing led to a reprisal by the villagers and the community mobilised. They succeeded in killing four of the attackers according to a police source. A further three insurgents were arrested. At 6:30 the same day a bomb exploded in Admawa, targeting fans leaving a football field after watching a local club match. The bomb also affected women and children within the blast area and 40 people died. Nigeria's military on Monday said it had made an arrest in connection with the bombing. See also Here

STOP PRESS: Following the Sunday incident, on Tuesday, insurgents dressed in army combat clothing carrying rifles and riding on army trucks re-entered the villages of Attagara, Agapalawa and Aganjara. They opened fire on villagers and burned houses and churches to the ground. African Spotlight reported dozens killed, BBC Radio 4 reported hundreds killed. This latest incident continues a pattern of almost daily deadly violence.    See also Here

Pray: for Christians and Muslims alike to work together in nation-building (Ps.68:20), and for the families of those killed to know God's strength, comfort and consolation. (Ps.68:5)  Pray for justice and peace and an end to violence in Nigeria. (Ps.68:1-3)

More: http://allafrica.com/stories/201406030911.html

That Nigeria is under siege and perhaps, experiencing one of her worst moments in recent times is not in doubt. This is despite the success of the World Economic Forum on Africa (WAFA) which took place at Abuja from the 7th to the 9th of May, 2014.

The foremost threat now to our national stability comes from terrorism, and the widespread insecurity in the country.  Insecurity has escalated in recent times especially since over 300 school girls were abducted from their school in Chibok, Bornu State by the terrorist group, Boko Haram. Apart from 50 girls who managed to escape from their captors, the whereabouts of the rest is still not certain. Worse still, is the impunity shown by the captors who boasted publicly that they will sell their victims in the slave market.

Apart from the problem of insecurity, the state of the economy is no better. The rate of unemployment is so worrisome. The so-called job creation by the Federal Government has not shown much impact among the youths, and has hardly alleviated the rate of crime. Apart from unemployment, there is also the problem of the lack of power. The so- called privatisation of the electricity companies has not improved the supply of electricity to the public.

Christian Association of Nigeria released the names of the abducted students in Chibok. A statement signed by evangelist Matthew Owojaiwe, the President of Old Time Revival Hour, chairman of Northern States Christian and Elders Forum says he believes the reason for the attack on Chibok Girls’ High School is, ‘Chibok Local Government is 90% Christian and the majority of the girls are Christian! Why did Boko Haram visit Chibok Local Government? Why didn’t they visit so many other Local Government girls secondary schools in Borno State?’ CAN has called the Nigerian Church to pray for their release for 15 minutes every time they gather. Owojaiye said. ‘For daughters of Zion taken captive, to be treated as slaves and sold into marriage to unclean people - an abomination has been committed. Raise lamentation to High Heavens. What a shame on the Church of the Living God. Military force may not get them out! Intensive agonising prayer will.’
Pray: for the Church to be strong in their lamentation prayer. Let God arise and defend his Name. (Ps.3:7)
More: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/05/chibok-can-releases-names-abducted-girls/#sthash.7lvzWxYQ.dpuf

As Nigeria struggles with the abduction of 200+ girls in April, Voice of America reported eight more teenage girls being kidnapped from Warabe village in north-eastern Nigeria on Tuesday night. On Monday the leader of Boko Haram said ‘I abducted your girls. Allah commands me to sell them in the market.’ President Goodluck Jonathan, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and several Christian groups are calling for everything to be done to rescue the girls. Boko Haram kidnaps Christian girls and turns them into sex slaves. Their strategy is ‘marry the girls and kill the men’. So by kidnapping these female students they demonstrate the impunity with which Boko Haram has been running its terrorist activities,’ Pray for God to employ more international governments to work in unity using technology and strategies that will end the reign of Boko Haram. See also
Pray: for the girls' release, for their healing from the dehumanisation, anguish and humiliation and for justice to be served. (Ps.7:5-7)
More: http://www.christianpost.com/news/boko-haram-leader-admits-to-abducting-200-schoolgirls-says-allah-told-him-to-sell-them-119128/

Last week you were asked to pray for more than 230 school girls abducted by Boko Haram militants in Chilbok.  This week, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the United Nations' special adviser on girls' education, will visit Nigeria to launch a campaign to raise funds and awareness of the schoolgirls' plight. ‘We cannot stop terrorism overnight but we can make sure that its perpetrators are aware that murdering and abducting schoolchildren is a heinous crime that the international authorities are determined to punish,’ he said. Relatives say they have been told of mass weddings last weekend involving insurgents and some of the abducted girls. ‘It's unbearable. Our wives have grown bitter and cry all day. The abduction of our children and the news of them being married off is like hearing of the return of the slave trade,’ said Yakubu Ubalala, whose 17- and 18-year-old daughters Kulu and Maimuna are among the disappeared.
Pray: for Nigeria's armed forces who face an uphill battle against the insurgents. (Ps.58:9). Pray protection for communities across the country's porous desert borders. (Ps.58:10,11)
More: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/29/kidnapped-nigerian-schoolgirls-marriage-claims

While the violence directed against Christians in northern Nigeria lately has been at the hands of the Islamic insurgent group Boko Haram, previous attacks against Christian villages were perpetrated by members of the nomadic Fulani herdsmen. The Fulani are traditionally Muslim and resent the encroachment of Christian settlements on land they use for grazing their cattle. They consider Christians as infidels that should be exterminated. Going back further into Nigeria’s history we get a glimpse of a root of division and animosity that todays challenges may stem from. In 1809 the North of Nigeria was established as a single powerful Islamic state that existed throughout the 1800s. Meanwhile in the south between 1830s-1886 civil wars plagued the Yorubaland speaking region. In 1960 Nigeria gained independence from Britain and an amalgamation of more than 200 tribes was divided into three regions based on the three major ethnic groups. Ethnicity and religion still play a huge role in Nigerian politics.

Pray: for God to remove violent spiritual roots that have been allowed to grow in the nation; pray that every altar raised against God’s purposes for Nigeria shall fail. (1Jn.3:8)

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13951696

Last week 230 schoolgirls in Borno State were kidnapped from Chilbok boarding school by Boko Haram. Efforts by officials have not rescued them so a group of fathers clubbed together to buy motorcycle fuel, and risking their own lives they drove into the Sambisa forest to try to find their daughters. They were unsuccessful. Musa Muka, whose 17-year-old daughter Martha is missing, said ‘We plead with the government to help rescue her and her friends. We pray nothing happens to her.’ Schools had been closed for four weeks for security reasons but girls aged 16 to 18 were recalled for a physics exam. Dozens of students managed to escape their captors by jumping from the back of an open truck or by running away and hiding in the dense forest. On the same day 75 people were killed and 141 injured by an explosion at a bus station in Abuja. (see last week’s Prayer-Alert)
Pray: for God to strengthen the military who are struggling to protect civilians from this insurgency. Pray for God to give the government His strategies for victory over death and destruction. (Pr.11:11)
More: http://www.channel4.com/news/nigeria-boko-haram-girls-school-kidnap-video

Retired military generals attending the National Conference were enraged when civilian colleagues condemned previous military regimes for the country's woes. Delegates demanded ‘former military administrators and coup plotters’ to be barred from holding public offices. Retired military officers insisted civilians benefited from the regimes and sponsored the military takeovers. Fighting has not only been verbal. A security operative attacked a photo-journalist and smashed his camera. In the past week two delegates have collapsed and been taken to hospital and a retired Police Officer died. In his inaugural address the President said, ‘We cannot continue to proffer yesterday’s solutions for today’s problems.’ A representative in the conference requests the following prayers, ‘ that every plan to scuttle the confrence shall not come to pass. (Is.7: 7) that every altar raised against the National Conference shall fail. (1 Jn.3:8) and those using intimidation to misdirect, distract and confuse shall be put to shame. (Job 5 12-14) See also:

Pray: for the 2014 National Conference to be the event in history which Nigeria chooses to build and positively restructure. (Ecc.3:3 & Is.60:1-3) Pray for the Christian delegation to be protected. (Is. 54:14-17)

More: http://allafrica.com/stories/201404160219.html

An explosion ripped through Nyanya Bus Park station about five miles south of Abuja at rush hour on Monday, killing 71 people as they were travelling to work.124 people were wounded. Body parts were strewn across the station as rescue workers scrambled to contain the chaos that followed the attack. People were running around in panic. The blast destroyed more than 30 vehicles and caused secondary explosions as their fuel tanks exploded and burned. Bus parking zones have been among Boko Haram's preferred targets. A bomb killed more than 40 last year at a terminal in Kano.

Pray: for an end to terrorist attacks on the vulnerable. Ask God to protect schools, villages, markets, military bases, checkpoints and bus stations from terrorism. (Is.42:3-4a)

More: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/nigeria-bus-station-hit-deadly-explosion-100221951.html#327K1T0

Islamic uprisings in Nigeria have caused at least 1,500 deaths this year alone as attacks on unarmed civilians become more commonplace, according to CBN News. ‘The international community cannot continue to look the other way in the face of extra-judicial executions, attacks on civilians, and other crimes under international law being committed on a mass scale,’ said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International director for Africa. The Associated Press reported that the number of killings since the start of 2014 equalled the total killed from 2010 to the middle of 2013. The latest attack killed three police officers and two soldiers as Islamists burned military barracks to the ground and destroyed a cell tower in Yobe.

Pray: against the ongoing terrorist activities and executions. (Ps.109:28)

More: http://www.worthynews.com/12843-islamic-nigerian-militants-kill-1500-this-year

At least 12 new private jets ordered by rich Nigerians will be delivered this year and private jet manufacturers will deliver 70 more within the next five years. The state-of-the-art private jets are being flown by professionals, politicians and even pastors. Each jet will cost between $30m and $65m. Many are optimistic about the business aviation market but it takes time. Infrastructure is needed. Meanwhile on Tuesday the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has reiterated the need for the Nigerian economy to grow faster in order to turn the tide on poverty. She said the chronic lack of electricity across the nation holds back businesses. ‘In the villages there are welders, plumbers and carpenters telling us their problem is uncertainty of power supply.’ Solving this power deficit would give a huge boost to Nigeria’s economy. She added Nigeria's rapid growth faced ‘vulnerabilities’. See also:

Pray: into the vulnerabilities of: poor infrastructure, corruption in business, terrorism attacks on the church, government and education systems. Pray for God to turn around Nigeria’s stunted growth. (Is.1:4)

More: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/okonjo-iweala-nigeria-must-turn-the-tide-on-poverty/175131/

The increasing number of unemployed graduates is threatening the sustainability of the nation’s economic development and sending disturbing signals to the global environment. Hundreds of thousands of university graduates are without jobs and over two million graduates join them every year. Youth unemployment rate is over 25%. There are several incidents of exploitation of job applicants by various government and private employment agencies. They charge desperate applicants a certain amount for an empty promise of securing jobs for them. Rather than reimburse the applicants for travelling long distances to write aptitude test, the agencies ask these very poor unemployed citizens to pay for being given the opportunity to participate in the recruitment exercise. Also many in the region are saying that local unemployed youth are being recruited by Boko Haram's brutal campaign of violence. There is an urgent need for job creation, reducing poverty and informal work.

Pray: for fair access to job opportunities;ay for ‘tomorrow's leaders’ to have opportunities to grow and develop their gifts and talents. (Ps.25:12-13)

More: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/dangers-of-rising-youth-unemployment/174483/