Founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo, has declared that Nigeria “will never become an Islamic State,” urging Christians across the country to rise in fervent prayers against what he described as a raging battle of insecurity and jihadist aggression.
Speaking during a church service, Oyedepo expressed deep concern over recent attacks targeting Christian communities, citing the killing of five worshippers in a church last week and the abduction of 35 others whose whereabouts remain unknown.
He lamented the rising cases of kidnapping, noting that perpetrators now demand ransoms as high as N100 million from rural communities.
Describing the surge in kidnappings as “worse than the scourge of slavery,” the cleric condemned the criminal networks behind the violence, declaring a spiritual curse on all those involved.
He said, “Every perpetrator of these killings and their sponsors come under a curse today.”
Oyedepo called on the congregation to join him in what he termed “extensive prayer,” insisting that such collective spiritual action would unleash divine intervention against the criminals.
“When this church prays, God hears. By praying, we are sending angels on an errand. There will be a catastrophe in the camp of the wicked,” he said.
He added that anyone involved in kidnapping and human trading “in the next seven days, will be smelling and stinking,” invoking divine judgment on the networks he described as “big-time business operators in human trade.”
The bishop warned that the church must not remain passive in the face of rising insecurity.
“A docile church is a curse,” he declared. “Let us wake up to our spiritual responsibility and break the arms of the devil.”
Oyedepo’s remarks come amid growing concerns over violent attacks, kidnappings, and the spread of extremist activities in several parts of the country.
