“Nigerians, particularly the Church, are running out of patience and cannot continue to watch while lives and properties are being daily wasted,” Akanji stated.
He disclosed that some teachers lost their lives during the attack, while those abducted are currently enduring harrowing experiences and untold hardship.
The cleric said the latest incident adds to a painful pattern of attacks on churches, schools, and communities across the country.
“The Nigerian Baptist Convention has faced a series of attacks on our schools and churches across Nigeria, with families and institutions forced to pay huge ransoms, just as it has been the experience of other churches and Nigerians,” he said.
Akanji recalled the abduction of 120 students and a matron from Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna State, on July 5, 2021, describing the experience as horrifying for both parents and the church.
He lamented that despite repeated calls and efforts to end abductions, killings, and destruction of property, the security situation in Nigeria continues to deteriorate.
The Baptist Convention President urged governments at all levels to urgently collaborate and find lasting solutions to the crisis.
“This crisis requires coordinated and decisive action beyond mere statements. Security agencies handling these issues must adopt more robust, focused, and modern strategies to eliminate these evil elements from our society,” he said.
He also called on traditional rulers, community leaders, and civil society organisations to actively support efforts aimed at combating insecurity.
“Local ownership of security is critical at this time,” Akanji added.
The cleric further urged the Federal Government to seek international assistance where necessary to curb the influx of criminal elements into the country.
He reiterated calls for the establishment of state police, adequately equipped with sophisticated weapons and working in collaboration with local security groups to tackle insurgency and banditry.
According to him, Nigeria has been left “wounded, bleeding and dying” like the victim in the Biblical story of the Jerusalem-Jericho road in Luke 10.
Akanji condemned the torture and abduction of innocent children, describing it as an affront against God.
“In the Bible, Jesus gave an exalted place to little children and maintained that instead of offending them, it would be better for such an offender to tie a millstone around his neck and be drowned in the sea,” he said.
He warned that those brutalising innocent children would face divine wrath.
The Convention, however, commiserated with families who lost loved ones during the attack and prayed for the safe return of all captives.
Akanji assured the government of the Convention’s support in ongoing efforts to rescue the victims.
“We call on all Baptists and Nigerians of goodwill to intensify prayers for the quick and safe release of all captives and for lasting peace in our nation,” he said.
The Nigerian Baptist Convention disclosed that 46 persons were abducted during the attack on communities in Oriire Local Government Area.
According to verified eyewitness accounts from community members, the victims included seven teachers and 39 students abducted from Community High School, Ahoro-Esinle, and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School.
Among those kidnapped was a two-year-old toddler identified as Christianah Akanbi of Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School.
The attackers were also said to have carted away four motorcycles belonging to residents, three from Yawota community and one from the secondary school.