Thousands of Muslim and Christian faithful on Sunday converged on Yola, Adamawa State capital, to offer special prayers for lasting peace and an end to insurgency in the country, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
According to NAN, a Muslim cleric, Abubakar Hussaini, who led the prayer session, urged Muslims to remain calm and be prayerful.
“You should not be intimidated and do not allow anyone to force you to flee your homes. We must be united and have the firm belief that with God on our side we have nothing to fear,” Hussaini said.
In a sermon, another cleric, Adam Usman, cautioned against rumour mongering, saying it could instil fear in residents.
He also urged the people not to flee Yola for fear of losing their lives as a result of insurgency.
The cleric called for collective effort to end insurgency and to return the troubled parts of the country to the path of peace and progress.
The prayers must be sustained for the unity of the country and for an end to insurgency, Usman said.
Thousands of Christians were also said to have held intercessory prayers across the state, seeking God’s intervention in the war declared against the people by insurgents.
They prayed for the return of peace and unity among Nigerians, particularly in some parts of the North, the NAN reports indicated.
The Adamawa State Chairman of the Christians Association of Nigeria, the Rev. Fr. Moses Taparki, told NAN that the prayers would be sustained until the country got rid of terror.
“We prayed for peace with many people displaced; we want all hands to be on deck for a lasting peace in Adamawa and other trouble spots across the country,” he said.
