Favour Ishember, Abuja
The recent attack on a Catholic church in Enugu has reignited a long-simmering alarm across the South-East, where places of worship were increasingly being drawn into Nigeria’s wider security crisis.
The incident came months after the Anglican Synod in Abia State issued an early warning this year about the growing presence of suspected bandits in the region.
That warning, church leaders say, went largely unheeded. Now, with congregants killed and communities unsettled, two prominent faith and community leaders are calling for a radical shift: from prayer alone, to prayer backed by technology, jobs for youth and a security architecture that actually responds.
Speaking with Daily Champion correspondent in separate interviews in Abuja, Chief Nze Ifeanyichukwu Obasi-Nweze, Igbo Leader and Erstwhile President of Ohanaeze Ndi’Igbo FCT Abuja Chapter, and Apostle Israel W. Abam, Senior Pastor of Guiding Light Assembly and Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, FCT Chapter agreed on the urgency but differed slightly on the path forward.
Chief Obasi-Nweze framed the attacks not as a South-East problem alone, but as part of a national insecurity that has found a new, symbolic target.
“Insecurity is a general problem in Nigeria and not related to the South East alone,” he said. “And I see their attacks on places of worship as to the advantage of the perpetrators and sponsors of this act. Also, the aim is to make people to be afraid of gathering in places of worship.”
Drawing from a recent trip to Enugu for a reunion, the former Ohanaeze FCT president pointed to surveillance as a practical first line of defence. He described how traffic cameras in the city automatically displayed reckless drivers, with another camera picking up the vehicle further down the road.
“Wherever you are in Enugu, if you drive recklessly, for instance, the camera catches you.There’s a next camera. So if you’re running from point A to point B, there’s another camera there. If cameras are everywhere, there will be a reduction in some of these incidents.”
He argued that responsibility cannot rest only with individuals. “It’s up to the various state governments; because you can’t leave security solely in the hands of private individuals. They should take steps to implement other forms of deterrents.”
Inside churches, he proposed a two-prong approach: install CCTV and mobilise youth volunteers on standby. He linked the idea to a communal tradition.
“We are all saying our youth do not have jobs. We should engage some of them so that there will be security. In the olden days, the youth divided themselves into groups. When it was the turn of your group, you sacrificed your sleep,” Obasi-Nweze said.
“Desperate situations call for desperate solutions, yes. If you are in a church and you know there is a possibility of an attack, you have CCTV that’s one. Two, you have some of the youth in the church who will also be on standby.”
He also alluded to what he called a criminal economy behind the violence, referencing social media reports of negotiations and ransoms. “They are human beings, and we know people are using them to cause mischief for their own gain.”
He closed with faith: “With some of these measures and prayers, I believe we will reduce the incidents of banditry. God, who knows what we don’t know, will help our country.”
For Apostle Abam, the audacity of the attacks reflects a deeper institutional breakdown.
“I am of the view that bandits have the audacity to invade not just the South East but every other part of the country because of the failure of our security architecture,” he said.
“Ordinarily, banditry is a crime that our Police should take care of but constant failure on the part of the Police has emboldened this criminal activity into a flourishing business.”
He questioned the response to early warnings. “Again when people intimate the security forces of impending danger shouldn’t pre-emptory steps be taken to avert the danger? Yet nothing gets done in that direction.”
The PFN FCT Chairman listed the fallout in stark terms. First, psychological: “people are made to live in fear. When people live in fear society gets highly tensed with health implications. Eonomic activities are constantly disrupted by reason of these attacks. Social life gets hampered and finally, political.
“The failure of Government becomes more apparent as safety and security of lives and properties is one of the highest constitutional responsibilities of Government.
“Government and security agencies need to stay alive to their responsibilities,” he said.
“Interferences with the security agencies’ activities designed to curb banditry must be seriously frowned at, and where there is credible evidence such interfering officers should be held accountable.”
“Security agents must up their game in intelligence gathering, arrests, and prosecution of arrested bandits.”
Chief Obasi-Nweze echoed the technology and youth employment angle, arguing that surveillance and community vigilance could deter attackers who currently operate with impunity.
