Israel Fabiyi

My beloved brethren, I greet you all in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Today, I write with tears in my eyes and a pain in my heart that words cannot fully explain. I have buried people I loved. Members of my own family have been killed. Church members who worshipped with us, prayed with us and served God with us have been taken away from this world. People who woke up in the morning expecting to return to their families never came home. And I keep asking myself... What is our crime? What have we done to deserve this? Who have we offended? What is the gain in all these killings? Why should a child lose a father simply because that father professed Christ? Why should a mother bury her children? Why should widows and orphans be created again and again while the world watches? My beloved, Christians are not asking for the death of anyone. We are asking for the right to live. We are asking for the right to worship God without fear. We are asking for our children to grow up, go to school, return home safely and praise God. Jesus said in Matthew 5:10, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” If our faith is the reason we are hated, then we will continue to hold on to Christ. But I ask those who are killing innocent people: What do you gain when you destroy a family? What do you gain when you turn children into orphans? What do you gain when you make a mother cry over the body of her son? Can blood build a better nation? Can the tears of widows bring peace? Can the graves of innocent people give anyone victory? The Bible says in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” So I mourn. I mourn for my family. I mourn for my church members. I mourn for every innocent Christian who has been killed. I mourn for every widow who now sleeps alone. I mourn for every child who asks, “Where is my father?” And I mourn for Nigeria. But even through my tears, I will not abandon Christ. The Bible says in Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Lord, draw near to every broken family. Lord, comfort every widow. Lord, wipe the tears of every orphan. Lord, protect those who are still living in fear. And Lord, give wisdom and courage to those entrusted with protecting innocent lives. We do not want revenge. We want justice. We want peace. We want a Nigeria where Christians and Muslims can live together, worship God according to their conscience, raise their children and sleep without fear. My beloved Nigerians, how many more graves must we see before our hearts are broken enough to cry out together? How many more mothers must we comfort? How many more children must become orphans? How many more churches must bury their members? How many more families must disappear before we say, “Enough”? I may be tired, I may be wounded, and I may have lost people I love, but I will continue to speak for the innocent. Because silence cannot bring back the dead. And fear will not make me deny my Lord. As Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” May God remember every family that has lost someone. May God heal Nigeria. May God protect His people. May God bring an end to the bloodshed. And may the day come when Nigerian children no longer grow up knowing the sound of gunfire, but only the sound of laughter, worship and peace. I remain your brother in Christ, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo