The Catholic Bishop of Maiduguri Diocese, Most Rev. Oliver Dashe, has urged Christians to intensify prayers for an end to insecurity in Nigeria, saying spiritual intervention would help defeat Boko Haram insurgents.
Dashe made the call on Saturday at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Maiduguri, while speaking with journalists after a church service to mark the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The bishop acknowledged the relative calm experienced in parts of Borno State after years of Boko Haram insurgency but said prayer alone would not end the crisis.
He urged individuals and government authorities to complement prayers with practical efforts to strengthen security and pursue terrorists in their hideouts.
“Today is a very important day for us in the Catholic Church. And that is the feast of the Assumption of our Lady into heaven. Our Lady has played a very significant role in the life of the Church in this diocese,” he said.
“I have been the Bishop of this diocese for the past 17 years, and as I stand here before you, it is because of her intercession. And so in this diocese, we embark on various devotions, including the rosary and the wearing of miraculous medals. We also go to our pilgrimage centre to reconsecrate our diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, reconsecrate our families and individuals, among others.”
On the role of prayers in the fight against insurgency, Dashe said Christians needed to remain spiritually vigilant.
“From the religious angle, we know that prayers will crush Boko Haram. However, we should know that as we pray, human beings must also do their work,” he said.
“It is very important that Christians should be on alert, and one of the best ways to be alert is to be prayerful. This is what we have done today. We have come in order to pray, thank our Mother Mary and to ask for more of her own intercession in our lives, our state and our country.”
The bishop attributed the relative peace observed in parts of Borno to what he described as the Virgin Mary’s intervention.
According to him, “One of the things she has done is the fact that she brought relative peace to this axis. We know that when Boko Haram crisis started about 17 years ago, it was not funny, but now, we are experiencing peace.
“People who fled have come back and are now serving their own God and that can be attributed to the intervention of our Mother Mary.”
Dashe, however, called on the Federal and Borno State governments to intensify military operations against insurgents and provide security personnel with the necessary support to reach terrorist strongholds.
“Therefore, I call on the government, both at the federal and state levels, to do the needful in ensuring that security personnel are able to go to the forest and mountains in order to fetch these terrorists and their members for peace to return to our state and country at large,” he said.
His comments came against the backdrop of continuing security concerns in Borno, despite improvements in some areas. In March, Maiduguri was hit by multiple explosions that killed at least 23 people and injured more than 100 others, according to Human Rights Watch.
The Nigerian military has also continued offensive operations against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the North-East.
The Federal Government said troops neutralized more than 50 terrorists during operations along the Kirawa-Pulka and Ngoshe axes in Borno in the first week of June. In another operation in June, the Army announced the rescue of 360 people abducted by Boko Haram from the Mandara Mountains in southern Borno.
Meanwhile, the Borno State Government has pursued a parallel non-military approach, including the rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant insurgents. In June, the government announced the reintegration of 720 former Boko Haram fighters, alongside 992 women and 2,050 children, after a deradicalization program.
Borno has remained at the centre of Nigeria’s more than 15-year insurgency, with Boko Haram and ISWAP continuing to pose security threats despite sustained military operations and efforts to restore displaced communities.
At the Assumption celebration, however, Dashe said sustained prayers, combined with effective action by the government and security agencies, remained essential to achieving lasting peace in Borno and the wider country.
- Osun Poll: Police Arrest Lawmaker Over Alleged Plot to Import 300 Voters - August 16, 2026
- #OsunDecides2026: Adeleke Wins Re-election as Osun Governor - August 16, 2026
- DHQ X Account Hacked, Nigerians Warned Against Fake Updates - August 16, 2026