The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, led by prominent figures including Pastor Yemi Davids and Apostle Iren, has taken to the streets in a mass rally to protest the escalating wave of insecurity across the country, calling on the federal government to take decisive and immediate action to protect the lives of Nigerians.
The rally, which drew thousands of participants from churches and Christian organisations affiliated with the Fellowship, wound through major thoroughfares in a display of collective resolve that organisers described as a spiritual and civic response to what they termed a national emergency.
According to the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, the procession was convened in direct response to the rising incidence of kidnappings, banditry, communal violence, and terrorist activity that has continued to claim lives across the North, Middle Belt, and increasingly, the South of the country.
Pastor Yemi Davids, addressing the crowd at the rally’s designated assembly point, declared that the church could no longer remain silent in the face of bloodshed that has rendered entire communities uninhabitable and sent hundreds of thousands of citizens fleeing from their ancestral homes.
“We are not here as a political force,” Davids told the gathering. “We are here as Nigerians who have buried too many of their own. The blood of the innocent is crying from the ground and we are adding our voices to that cry.”
Apostle Iren, who also addressed participants during the procession, charged the federal government and state administrations to move beyond rhetoric and deploy concrete measures capable of dismantling the criminal networks and insurgent cells responsible for the sustained violence.
He called specifically for improved funding and equipment for frontline security personnel, stronger inter-agency intelligence coordination, and a transparent accountability framework to ensure that resources allocated to national security reach their intended purpose.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, in a formal statement issued ahead of the rally, listed the killing of Christians in rural communities, the abduction of schoolchildren, and the destruction of worship centres among the specific grievances that compelled the organisation to mobilise its membership for public action.
The PFN further called on the National Assembly to prioritise emergency security legislation and to exercise robust oversight over the executive’s management of the security crisis, warning that public confidence in state institutions was eroding at a dangerous pace.
Security agencies deployed personnel along the rally route to maintain order, with the procession reported to have proceeded without incident. Observers noted the diversity of participants, which included clergy, laity, youth groups, and women’s fellowships drawn from multiple denominations under the PFN umbrella.
Representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria, the umbrella body under which the PFN operates, were also present at the rally in a show of solidarity, signalling that the concerns being expressed extended beyond Pentecostal circles to the broader Christian community in the country.
Members of civil society organisations and some opposition political figures were spotted among the crowd, though the PFN was emphatic that the rally carried no partisan colouring and was open to all Nigerians irrespective of faith, ethnicity, or political affiliation.
The Inspector General of Police, in a brief response issued through the Force Public Relations Officer, acknowledged the concerns raised by the Fellowship and stated that ongoing operational deployments across high-risk states would be reviewed in light of the public outcry.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria warned that should government fail to demonstrate measurable progress on the security situation within a defined period, the Fellowship would consider escalating its civic engagement to include a formal audience with the Presidency and targeted legislative advocacy.
