Last week 230 schoolgirls in Borno State were kidnapped from Chilbok boarding school by Boko Haram. Efforts by officials have not rescued them so a group of fathers clubbed together to buy motorcycle fuel, and risking their own lives they drove into the Sambisa forest to try to find their daughters. They were unsuccessful. Musa Muka, whose 17-year-old daughter Martha is missing, said ‘We plead with the government to help rescue her and her friends. We pray nothing happens to her.’ Schools had been closed for four weeks for security reasons but girls aged 16 to 18 were recalled for a physics exam. Dozens of students managed to escape their captors by jumping from the back of an open truck or by running away and hiding in the dense forest. On the same day 75 people were killed and 141 injured by an explosion at a bus station in Abuja. (see last week’s Prayer-Alert)
Pray: for God to strengthen the military who are struggling to protect civilians from this insurgency. Pray for God to give the government His strategies for victory over death and destruction. (Pr.11:11)
More: http://www.channel4.com/news/nigeria-boko-haram-girls-school-kidnap-video

Retired military generals attending the National Conference were enraged when civilian colleagues condemned previous military regimes for the country's woes. Delegates demanded ‘former military administrators and coup plotters’ to be barred from holding public offices. Retired military officers insisted civilians benefited from the regimes and sponsored the military takeovers. Fighting has not only been verbal. A security operative attacked a photo-journalist and smashed his camera. In the past week two delegates have collapsed and been taken to hospital and a retired Police Officer died. In his inaugural address the President said, ‘We cannot continue to proffer yesterday’s solutions for today’s problems.’ A representative in the conference requests the following prayers, ‘ that every plan to scuttle the confrence shall not come to pass. (Is.7: 7) that every altar raised against the National Conference shall fail. (1 Jn.3:8) and those using intimidation to misdirect, distract and confuse shall be put to shame. (Job 5 12-14) See also:

Pray: for the 2014 National Conference to be the event in history which Nigeria chooses to build and positively restructure. (Ecc.3:3 & Is.60:1-3) Pray for the Christian delegation to be protected. (Is. 54:14-17)

More: http://allafrica.com/stories/201404160219.html

Islamic uprisings in Nigeria have caused at least 1,500 deaths this year alone as attacks on unarmed civilians become more commonplace, according to CBN News. ‘The international community cannot continue to look the other way in the face of extra-judicial executions, attacks on civilians, and other crimes under international law being committed on a mass scale,’ said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International director for Africa. The Associated Press reported that the number of killings since the start of 2014 equalled the total killed from 2010 to the middle of 2013. The latest attack killed three police officers and two soldiers as Islamists burned military barracks to the ground and destroyed a cell tower in Yobe.

Pray: against the ongoing terrorist activities and executions. (Ps.109:28)

More: http://www.worthynews.com/12843-islamic-nigerian-militants-kill-1500-this-year

An explosion ripped through Nyanya Bus Park station about five miles south of Abuja at rush hour on Monday, killing 71 people as they were travelling to work.124 people were wounded. Body parts were strewn across the station as rescue workers scrambled to contain the chaos that followed the attack. People were running around in panic. The blast destroyed more than 30 vehicles and caused secondary explosions as their fuel tanks exploded and burned. Bus parking zones have been among Boko Haram's preferred targets. A bomb killed more than 40 last year at a terminal in Kano.

Pray: for an end to terrorist attacks on the vulnerable. Ask God to protect schools, villages, markets, military bases, checkpoints and bus stations from terrorism. (Is.42:3-4a)

More: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/nigeria-bus-station-hit-deadly-explosion-100221951.html#327K1T0

At least 12 new private jets ordered by rich Nigerians will be delivered this year and private jet manufacturers will deliver 70 more within the next five years. The state-of-the-art private jets are being flown by professionals, politicians and even pastors. Each jet will cost between $30m and $65m. Many are optimistic about the business aviation market but it takes time. Infrastructure is needed. Meanwhile on Tuesday the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has reiterated the need for the Nigerian economy to grow faster in order to turn the tide on poverty. She said the chronic lack of electricity across the nation holds back businesses. ‘In the villages there are welders, plumbers and carpenters telling us their problem is uncertainty of power supply.’ Solving this power deficit would give a huge boost to Nigeria’s economy. She added Nigeria's rapid growth faced ‘vulnerabilities’. See also:

Pray: into the vulnerabilities of: poor infrastructure, corruption in business, terrorism attacks on the church, government and education systems. Pray for God to turn around Nigeria’s stunted growth. (Is.1:4)

More: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/okonjo-iweala-nigeria-must-turn-the-tide-on-poverty/175131/

  1. Nigeria: Dangers of rising youth unemployment
  2. Nigeria: National conference starts in Abuja
  3. Nigeria: Weekend violence
  4. Nigeria: a state of war as Islamist insurgency rages

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