By Toyin Adeniyi
Chairman of Lagos State chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Pastor Yemi Davids has recounted gory details of how over 5000 pastors were killed in the north in the last 13 years.
He gave the account in a viral video message after a meeting he attended in Abuja at the Family Life Church where widows and missionaries from several northern states shared accounts of how their husbands who were pastoral were killed in the last 13 years…
He also warned that if the killings are not curtailed as fast as possible the insurgents could come down south..
Accounts of Widows
Davids said widows from Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi and other states in the north described how their husbands were murdered in church attacks, on farmlands, or after they were kidnapped between 2012 and 2025.
Data presented at the meeting indicated that about 5,000 pastors have been killed during those years.
According to the stories shared at the forum armed groups sometimes raided churches, separated men from women, and killed the men on the spot.
One widow recounted finding her husband’s body “butchered” after such an invasion. Another described how her husband was abducted on their farm and later shot despite ransom payments.
Some also detailed repeated raids on rural villages where attackers arrived on motorcycles at night, lighting up entire settlements before killing people and chasing residents into the forest.
The Lagos PFN chairman said hearing the stories firsthand revealed a crisis far larger than many Nigerians especially in the Southwest realize.
“What you are seeing and reading in the news are trickles, too small. We don’t know. If we knew, maybe we would have reacted better.” he said while also apologising on behalf of Christians in the southern region, saying “most are unaware of the scale of the violence because only a fraction of incidents are reported.”
He warned that the killings, once associated with far northern states, are now moving closer. “Some years ago, what we’re hearing was Borno State, Katsina State. Now you’re hearing Kwara State. That’s very dangerous. Kogi State. Plateau is ravaged.”
He cautioned that the Southwest “should be careful that it doesn’t get here.” This, he said, underscores the need for collective response across states, denominations and communities to stop terrorists before they advance further.
Nigeria according to him is “at a critical phase,” adding that “there has to be a pushback. There’s a need for rescue.”
He described the situation faced by families of slain pastors as painful “It’s so painful to see your wife in the morning, or your husband in the morning, and then by 3 p.m., you can’t see him again.”
While acknowledging the ongoing support from some churches in Abuja he stressed that more coordinated assistance is needed.
He described his meeting with victims of the insurgents as emotionally draining and then urged continued prayers and practical intervention to prevent further deterioration of the security situation in the north.