Over 6,000 ECWA members affected by Boko Haram insurgency

The Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) has stated that more than 6,000 members had been affected by Boko Haram insurgency.

Speaking with journalists at the 75th anniversary conference of the ECWA women fellowship international in Ilorin, the chairman, central planning committee of the programme, Emmanuel Malomo, charged Nigerian leaders to rise up to the challenge of making the nation secure.

“Nigeria, as declared by our leaders, is out of recession, but our people are still wallowing in poverty as a result of non-payment of salaries, security challenges, job losses, economic woes, among others. Yes, the hardship is not man-made, but we believe our leaders can take certain steps to alleviate the hardship faced by the people.

“On the part of Evangelical Church Winning All as a whole, not just the women fellowship, we are not happy about the happenings in Nigeria. More than 6,000 members of the church are affected. Scores of our pastors have been abducted; some killed as a result of the security challenges in parts of the North. Many ECWA churches have been burnt down in Yobe, Borno, and other parts of the nation by Boko Haram terrorists.

“Even as the church continues to pray, we can secure our nation. We can secure ourselves, but it is in the hands of the government to defend the people. For us as a church, we will join forces with security outfits to secure the lives and property of our people,” he said.

The event also featured prayers by the ECWA women for the safe rescue of the school girls kidnapped in Dapchi, Yobe State.

Speaking on the abduction of the schoolgirls, the South-West women leader of the church, Mrs Florence Alashi, said: “We urge the Federal Government to do something. We pray that very soon, they will return to their homes. However, we can only pray that the Federal Government will not take things lightly this time around. We are also affected as mothers. I will implore us not to relent in our prayers for this kind of thing to stop in this country.”

The conference will hold between March 7 and 10, 2018, in Igbaja, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.