Slaughtering Nigerian Christians continues unabated. An average of ten Christians are killed daily. A recent episode was at the hands of the government, which executed six Christian soldiers in Abuja on false charges. A Muslim colonel stole weapons from an armoury, but six Christian soldiers on duty got blamed for the theft. Their lawyer claimed they died ‘purely because they were Igbo and Christian. The government of today detests Christianity and detests the Igbo tribe.’ He had petitioned the government to provide a defence, but his attempt was denied and they were executed in secret. Nigeria’s constitution gives the military no authority to execute people, and prisoners should be able to appeal to a higher court. They didn’t get their rights. The military now claims that they were never executed, but they have not been seen by their families or in public.

Pray: for the Nigerian government to respond to the 28 groups demanding answers for the soldiers’ disappearance / execution. (Proverbs 15:14)

More: www.christianpost.com/news/nigerias-military-executes-6-christian-soldiers-on-false-charges.html

In 2014, militants stormed a boarding school in Chibok and kidnapped 276 girls. Dozens escaped almost immediately; another girl was found in May 2016. After government/Boko Haram negotiations, 21 more girls were released, then 82 were freed in a prisoner swap in 2017. Since then, nothing had been heard of the remaining captives, until Halima Ali Maiyanga called her father to say she had managed to escape on 28 January. ‘She asked me, Is this my daddy? and she started crying. The crying was so much I couldn't hear her very well. I was crying too. I never expected to hear from her again. Our house is full of people rejoicing with us.’ Halima and others are safe and being looked after by the Nigerian army. While we praise God for their escape, please continue to pray for the remaining girls and their families.

Pray: for the girls to have all the spiritual, emotional and physical support needed to fit back quickly into their communities. Pray for the girls still in captivity to have a chance to escape. (Philippians 1:6)

More: www.edition.cnn.com/2021/01/29/africa/nigeria-chibok-girls-escape-intl/index.html

Open Doors reports Christian persecution at a record high globally. The number of Christians murdered for their faith rose 60% in 2020. 340 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution through Islamic or communist oppression or Hindu nationalism. Even the pandemic has been used as an excuse by extremists and governments as a justification in several places. Indian local governments use pressure on Christians to withhold food and medical care. Over 115,000 incidents have been documented. In Nigeria Boko Haram attack Christian villages and take food and medical supplies. Pray for an end to the extra persecution because of Covid. New data show that China is using Facebook, Zoom, and Apple to threaten and censor Christians. There are 100 million Christians in China; the regime is using technology to watch their every move. When they go into church they are subject to facial recognition; their online searches are examined, and massive surveillance systems are monitoring religious practice.

Pray: for more wise conversations between human rights organisations and governments that will bring justice for the persecuted. (Matthew 5:10)

More: www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2021/january/1-in-8-christians-now-persecuted-for-their-faith-here-are-the-most-dangerous-countries-to-be-a-christian-in-2021

A Christmas Eve attack by Boko Haram which left at least eleven dead and two church buildings razed to the ground prompted Nigerian bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri to issue a rallying cry, insisting Islamist violence is doomed to failure. Bishop Oliver said he was undaunted by the attack in Pemi, near Chibok, where over 270 mostly Christian schoolgirls had been kidnapped in 2016. Speaking after the attack, in which a priest was abducted, he said, ‘One thing that Boko Haram will never take from us is our faith. We will never allow our faith to be taken away by any evil. Our faith is becoming stronger and stronger. 100 people were baptised in one parish on Christmas Eve. People are so committed.’ The Bishop said that Boko Haram’s actions were in fact strengthening the Christian faith; his diocese has more Catholics than when there was no Boko Haram crisis.

Pray: for God to continue to build His Church, and for the government to contain terrorism in 2021. (1 Peter 2:5)

More: acnuk.org/news/no-evil-will-take-away-out-faith/

Bullets fly overhead as schoolboys scream out in fear. Chaos. Shrapnel. Hundreds go missing. This was the scene last week when Boko Haram militants stormed a high-school in Katsina, northern Nigeria, to abduct hundreds of students, 400 remain missing. It is a horror story reminiscent of the 2014 kidnapping of schoolgirls that prompted the viral #BringBackOurGirls campaign. The attack came just weeks after the brutal slaying of Nigerian farmers in Borno state by militants on motorcycles (thirty were beheaded). Nigeria's population is 50% Christian and 50% Muslim with groups like Boko Haram subscribing to a warped interpretation of Islam that justifies murder of Christians. In practice, both Christians and Muslims have been targeted in recent years. Pray for the government to improve its standards and protect vulnerable communities. Pray the authorities will also terminate the Special Anti-Robbery Squad’s contract to end the torture and extrajudicial killings that it has engaged in.  STOP PRESS: it has now been reported that all the schoolboys have been released by Boko Haram. See

Pray: for peaceful neighbourhoods to replace religious and ethnic divisions; for President Buhari's government to end deadly militant attacks; Give thanks that the abducted boys have been released. (1 John 3:18)

More: us12.campaign-archive.com/

An attack on 28 November by Boko Haram terrorists on farmers working in rice fields in northeastern Nigeria killed at least 110 people. ‘The incident is the most violent direct attack against innocent civilians this year. Many women are also believed to have been kidnapped. Security forces and volunteer vigilante groups are searching to find people still missing. Locals say they recovered 43 bodies in villages near Maiduguri, the capital of the restive Borno state, which has been plagued by an armed campaign for over ten years. A local resident said, ‘Nobody knows the exact number of people killed. We can’t account for farmers who were there; we don’t know if they are hiding in the bush or if they were kidnapped.’ Pray for God to comfort the mourners. See also

Pray: for the kidnapped women to be returned to safety and for a review of Nigeria’s security system so that senseless attacks are prevented and perpetrators captured. (Isaiah 61:8)

More: www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/boko-haram-attack-killed-at-least-110-in-nigeria-un/2060088

PRAYER POINTS FOR THE 24/7 PRAYER CHAIN FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST & NIGERIA, NOV 29 – DEC 5, 2020

(A) PRAISE, WORSHIP & GIVE THANKS TO GOD for all you can remember (B) CONFESS ALL SINS ask for forgiveness; then truly REPENT i.e. Act, change your ways in line with God’s word; live in obedience

INTRODUCTION

Our Father and our God, we come to You in thanksgiving and appreciation for the promises You gave to us earlier in the year as a Church and as a nation which led to the intensity of prayers building up to our 60th Independence Anniversary. We thank You that Your promises in You are Yea and Amen to Your glory (2 Cor 1:20).. As we come, we declare that You are our light and salvation (Ps 27:1) and present ourselves to You in the different stages that we are: that you keep the strong going on, confirm the faith of the doubtful and lift up the weak, weary and confused that in Your Light, we will all see the light (Ps. 136:9); speak clearly to reveal to us where we are in Your plan and agenda and help us to together go on in faith to take the nation for Your glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

PRAYER 1: O Lord, encouraged by Your strength, we resolve to take the battle to the gate of Your enemies (Is. 28 1-5) According to Your Word, let there be upon our heads, Your diadems of beauty and Your crowns of glory and cause there to be a revelation of Your strong and mighty One that brings to the ground, the pompous and prod heads of those intoxicated with power who have continued in injustice, tyranny, oppression and wickedness in this land, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

PRAYER 2: O that You would rend the heavens, O LORD (Is 64:1) and, that You would roar from on high and come down that Your Church and the inhabitants of the nation might fear before You. Let there be a total destruction and consumption of the well-executed plans of Your enemies in this land that have lasted more than 200 years; reveal the hiding places of their strengths and bring a revelation of their weaknesses that will bring their agenda and orchestrations crashing down, in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

PRAYER 3: Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ, we take authority over you mistress of witchcrafts operating in Nigeria, that sells nations through your whoredoms, and families through your witchcrafts (Nahum 3:4-6), concerning every spirit of blindness, dumbness and deafness which you have released and operated in Nigeria by which the people have been incapacitated, today we judge you and reveal the east wind of God against you and these spirits, we sack you and them from operation in this land and decree that the liberty of the spirit of God and freedom will once again flourish ring across the land, in Jesus name. Amen.

PRAYER 4: We pray further concerning you mistress of witchcrafts and sorceries, who by your assignment, sells nations and families. Today, in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we search every foundation and subsequent transaction through which each of the nationalities of Nigeria has been corruptly negotiated and sold through greed, avarice, compromise, demonic covenants and associations and we purge each one and their effects upon each of the nations with the blood of Jesus. We command and declare a setting free of the nations making up Nigeria. As the Lord uncovers your skirts, we decree and declare the revelation of every remaining secret, hidden strength and reinforcements by which you carry on your operations, in Jesus mighty name. Amen. PRAYER 5: Father, we bring before You the noise and tumult of the enemy, the commotion and terror of its agents and foot-soldiers, the aggression of its principal agents and urge that You remember that these were brought on at the outset against Your people. Lord, because Your Word says whoever digs a pit shall fall into it, (Prov 26:27), we call upon You and declare that the violence and insecurity that have become the byproducts of these actions will go on to consume the perpetrators completely and irredeemably, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

PRAYER 6:Dear Lord, Your Word declares that whatever collides with the name of Jesus shall be broken into pieces and whatever that name falls upon will be ground to powder(Lk 20:18). Today, every person, throne, power, kingdom, institution or altar that exalts itself above Your knowledge, their priests and their altars and every chain, barrier, hindrance and arrangement contrary to the fulfillment of Your Word and promises concerning Nigeria be visited with judgment, in Jesus’ name. Amen

PRAYER 7: According to the Word of the Lord in Isaiah 66:8, I call forth the birthing of the New Nation of Nigeria as You have promised without any hindrance and we ask that the midwives of heaven and earth aid her emergence to fulfill the ordained purpose of God, in Jesus’ Name, Amen

Pray other prayers you are led or burdened to pray; including prayers that the recent protests will advance God’s purposes for Nigeria; prayers for release of Leah Sharibu and others; that the older generation in Nigeria be shaken from lethargy and be emboldened to speak up and fulfill their roles in the birthing of the new nation of Nigeria; for USA elections that only God’s choice of President shall emerge and God’s righteousness cover the earth, etc.

REGISTER & INVITE OTHERS: Be part of this 24x7 prayer chain. Please choose your day and time in the week to pray for 30 mins; then register at http://repent.csmnigeria.org You will receive prayer points regularly. This will also enable us to track coverage of each day and week. Please share and invite others too. Thank you.

Protests against police brutality subsided after a violent crackdown: see Now the police chief has ordered more police resources after the curfew gave way to widespread vandalism and looting, including government food warehouses stripped bare. Shopping malls, TV stations, and banks were targeted, and also retail stores in popular Lagos shopping districts. Violence and looting have been reported in most states. Amnesty International said, ‘The turmoil has seen the worst street violence since Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999. Wealthy politicians and individuals have been looted, emboldening hoodlums that crimes of this magnitude are achievable. In an effort to quell unrest, the government announced that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) would be disbanded, and promised a host of reforms. But demonstrators are sceptical of government promises without clearly-specified timeframes. Pray for the police to successfully and peacefully prevent further hooliganism. See also

Pray: for President Muhammadu Buhari to establish economic and social justice, and honour his promise to disband SARS. (Proverbs 24:24-25)

More: www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/world/africa/Nigeria-protests.html

On 21 October Lagos police opened fire on protesters after twelve days of demonstrations against police brutality. The shootings took place at a toll gate after Lagos officials had imposed a 24-hour curfew on 20 million people in a bid to bring the protests to an end. But the demonstrations against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) show little sign of slowing down. SARS should tackle robbery, kidnappings and other violent crime, but has been widely criticised for human rights abuses including torture, extortion and extrajudicial killings. Plain clothes police officers frequently target young men with tattoos, dreadlocks, and expensive cars arbitrarily. The Nigerian army has tweeted out stills of news reports about the ‘alleged’ shootings with the words ‘fake news’ plastered across them in red letters. However, Amnesty International said there is disturbing credible evidence that they actually took place. See also

Pray: for President Muhammadu Buhari to establish economic and social justice, and honour his promise to disband SARS. (Proverbs 24:24-25)

More: news.sky.com/story/end-sars-nigerian-police-open-fire-on-protesters-in-lagos-after-12-days-of-anti-police-brutality-demonstrations-12109649

BREAKPOINT: Benjamin Watson, Tulsi Gabbard and Frank Wolf on the Slaughter of Christians in Nigeria

On Wednesday of this week, I was honored to participate in a media event, along with former U.S. Representative Frank Wolf, current U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, former Super Bowl star Ben Watson, and Stephen Enada, president of the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON). The targeting of Christians in Nigeria, for persecution, abduction, and death, is so dire, it’s been labeled “genocide” by observers both inside and outside the country.

Especially in northern Nigeria, Christians are under a sustained, brutal assault by two groups bent on their destruction: The Islamist terror group Boko Haram and Fulani militants motivated by a mixture of Islamist ideology and greed for land. On any given day, Christians are killed, raped, and kidnapped.

An interactive calendar on the ICON website offers a documented summary of how many Christian have been victimized each day since December of last year. As I mentioned in my comments for the panel, this campaign against believers has been going on for years, but the calendar offers a visual picture that the persecution of Christians in Nigeria is as recent as last week. For example, just last week, over 20 Christians were killed and over 60 abducted.

As Stephen Enada, leader of ICON and host for Wednesday’s panel, told me recently on the BreakPoint Podcast, Nigerian Christians are in the midst of an “existential crisis.” In addition to those killed, there are more than 3 million displaced Nigerians. Women and children are being trafficked to Europe.

Yet the Nigerian government has embraced a policy of indifference, if not complicity. At most, they arrest a few perpetrators, declare them “de-radicalized” after a short while, and send them back into the community. Many continue to prey upon their Christian neighbors.

This is why every member of Wednesday’s panel called for external pressure. The Nigerian government must be pressured by the international community, especially the government of the United States of America. Creating that pressure is the mission of ICON. Their comprehensive report, “Genocide in Nigeria,” offers the full, heartbreaking picture of what is happening in Africa’s largest country. You can get a copy on their website.

Wednesday’s event was designed not only to inform media about ICON’s activities and resources, but to press for action while offering possible ways the U.S. might pressure the Nigerian government to act.

After pointing out that more Christians have been killed in Nigeria than Islamists have killed in Syria and the rest of the Middle East, former Representative Frank Wolf urged the Trump Administration to appoint a special envoy for Nigeria. In addition to working with the U.N. and NGOs to coordinate all efforts to confront the crisis, a special envoy will send a signal that the United States is serious about the problem and is willing to put its sizeable weight to work in order to address it.

Enada seconded Wolf’s recommendations, saying that “it’s more important than ever that the U.S. government act to resolve this crisis. A special envoy,” he said, “with the full backing of our federal government, would have the power to hold perpetrators accountable.” Representative Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu, voiced her support for these kinds of efforts as well. Too often, she said “these attacks go unnoticed,” but Americans must “join our voices against the systematic slaughter of Christians.”

Former Super Bowl Champion Ben Watson struck perhaps the most inspirational note of the event. “If we are silent about [what’s happening in Nigeria] we are in some way complicit.” He then linked the campaign for justice in Nigeria to the campaign for racial justice here at home: “This shouldn’t be limited to our shores . . . we must raise a voice against violations around the world.”

And please, pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. As I said at the event on Wednesday, and I’ll say it again, praying is doing something. Primarily, prayer aligns our hearts with the heart of God. And, make no mistake, the heart of God is aligned with our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted. The more we pray the less we will tolerate silence about their persecution.

More at: https://breakpoint.org/benjamin-watson-tulsi-gabbard-and-frank-wolf-on-the-slaughter-of-christians-in-nigeria/