Latest: Nigerian Baptist Convention Condemns Video Threatening Christians in Enugu and Jos Churches

Boys in matching uniforms, marching in step, chanting for AK-47 rifles. That is what Christian leaders in Nigeria say the viral video shows: a young man leading a group of boys in chants calling for attacks on Christians gathered for Sunday worship in Enugu and Jos. The Christian Association of Nigeria condemned the footage in the strongest terms, and the president of the Nigerian Baptist Convention has now added his voice, urging the federal government to investigate at once.

No attack linked to the video had been reported in the coverage read for this article.

The Rev. Dr. David Idowu, president of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, described the video as disturbing and expressed support for the Christian Association of Nigeria's position in condemning it, the Nigerian Tribune reports. He called on the federal government to urgently investigate, stressing that Nigeria is a secular state where citizens are entitled to practise their religion without fear, intimidation or persecution.

Christian Association of Nigeria Condemns Viral Video Enugu Jos

The Christian Association of Nigeria, known as CAN, had condemned the video days earlier. In a statement signed by its president, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, and sent to journalists on a Tuesday, CAN said the footage showed a young man leading a group of boys in chants calling for AK-47 rifles to attack Christians in Enugu and Jos during Sunday worship, BusinessDay reports. The video had sparked outrage on social media, BusinessDay notes.

CAN called the threats chilling and utterly unacceptable, and said no Nigerian should have to fear for their life because of their faith or face violence simply for gathering to worship God.

"Such threats must not be dismissed as mere chants or treated as harmless displays of youthful exuberance. They demand urgent attention and decisive action," Archbishop Okoh said, as quoted by BusinessDay.

"On behalf of CAN, I condemn this apparent incitement to religious violence. We are particularly alarmed by the apparent involvement of children and young persons in chants threatening the killing of innocent worshippers."

The use of children in the footage is the detail that alarms both organisations most, and both statements return to it again and again.

BusinessDay reports that the footage shows the participants wearing uniforms associated with the First Aid Group, the humanitarian and volunteer service arm of JIBWIS, commonly known as Yan Agaji. CAN noted the reported disavowal of the video by the leadership of JIBWIS, BusinessDay reports, and said the denial cannot replace an independent investigation into who was involved, where the video came from, and what led to the chants.

Nigeria Baptist Convention David Idowu Calls for Investigation

Rev. Idowu urged Christian organisations, church leaders and members of the Christian community not to be intimidated by the threats but to remain steadfast in their faith, the Tribune reports. He also urged them to strengthen security measures within their churches and communities, and to intensify prayers and fasting for the nation's security challenges.

The Tribune's account of the video is shorter than CAN's. It describes young people calling on the government to provide them with ammunition to kill individuals they describe as infidels, particularly Christians worshipping in churches. BusinessDay's account, drawn from CAN's statement, is more specific: AK-47 rifles, Enugu and Jos, Sunday worship.

Where they differ in detail, this article attributes each detail to the outlet that reported it, rather than blending them into a single version.

CAN called on the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant security agencies to launch an urgent and thorough investigation, BusinessDay reports. The investigation, CAN said, should establish when and where the video was recorded, identify those involved and determine who organised or facilitated the activity, and assess security risks to churches in Enugu, Jos and elsewhere.

The statement also looked beyond the video itself. Religious leaders across Nigeria have a responsibility to reject, unequivocally, any teaching, slogan or activity that promotes hatred or violence against people of another faith, Archbishop Okoh said, as quoted by BusinessDay. Young people should be raised to respect human life and the dignity of others, he said, not taught to regard fellow citizens as enemies to be eliminated because of their religious beliefs.

That warning lands in a country where christain communities in the north and the Middle Belt have lived with killings, kidnappings and the destruction of churches for years. The video, if it is what CAN says it is, is not an attack that already happened. It is a threat, filmed and shared, and the question is whether the state will treat a filmed threat as seriously as a carried-out one.

Readers can follow related pressure on Nigerian Christians in Latest: 17 Kidnapped Worshippers Died in Captivity in Kaduna, CSW Says, Latest: US Congressman Riley Moore Says Christians in Nigeria Still Face Unspeakable Violence November 2026, Boko Haram Destroys Church in Adamawa as Eight Christian Villages Displaced in Nigeria, and Today: International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians 2026 Focuses on Bassam.

On Sunday, congregations in Enugu and Jos will gather again, and the test CAN set will be a plain one: whether anyone knocked on a door, asked who filmed the video, and told the churches what was found. Until that answer comes, the boys in the footage and the men condemning it will both be part of the same Sunday story, and the churches will be watching to see which one the state takes seriously.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.