Key Points

• Oyedepo renews a fifteen year warning after new church attacks leave worshippers dead and abducted.

• He calls for nationwide midnight prayers and vows that perpetrators will face judgment.

• Italy joins the United States in condemning alleged Christian killings and urges stronger protection.

Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, David Oyedepo, renewed his long running warning on rising insecurity in Nigeria.

He raised the alarm after a fresh wave of church attacks left worshippers dead and others abducted.

He spoke during the Fourth Pre Shiloh Encounter Service monitored by Vanguard. At the same time, Italy joined the United States in pushing Nigeria to act against what both countries call targeted killings of Christians.

Fifteen year warning revived

Oyedepo voiced worry about recent attacks. He told the congregation that the violence demanded a prompt spiritual response. He urged prayers that, in his view, could stop further killings.

“You can’t trade people’s lives for comfort. The innocent blood spilled is calling for vengeance. The perpetrators will pay with their lives,” he stated.

He reminded worshippers of his long connection to the country. He added that his message was the same warning he had issued for fifteen years.

“No one is more Nigerian than myself. Power passes power. None passes the power of God,” he told the crowd.

Call for midnight prayers

He urged members to engage in midnight prayers. He described the sessions as a spiritual raid against those behind violence and kidnappings.

He pointed to the recent church invasion where worshippers lost their lives and others were taken.

“A church was invaded during worship. People were killed and others taken and nothing happened. The God of justice is rising,” he told the gathering.

He also referenced scripture that warns about the curse placed on wicked acts.

He added that Nigeria would not fall into chaos and that his warning came from a burning spirit.

He recalled Psalm 85, which speaks about peace to God’s people. He stressed that the scripture pushed him to speak again.

Italy increases international pressure

In a separate development, Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, released a message on X. She condemned what she described as renewed violence against Christian communities in Nigeria.

She urged the Federal Government to strengthen protection for religious groups and to prosecute attackers.

“Religious freedom is an inviolable right. We ask the Nigerian government to strengthen the protection of Christian communities and all religious communities and to prosecute those responsible for these attacks,” she wrote.

Meloni added that Italy stood with victims and with communities that now feel endangered because of their beliefs. Her intervention brings Italy in line with Washington.

Earlier, former President Donald Trump warned that the United States could take military action if Nigeria failed to halt what he called Christian genocide.