When Darkness Creeps In: The Rising Tide of Bloodshed in Nigeria

There’s a heaviness in my heart as I write this, a weight too deep to ignore. 

Every day in Nigeria, we wake up to news that shatters the soul, innocent lives snatched away, family members turning against each other, gruesome betrayals that leave us gasping for breath.

Just recently in Imo State, a mother and her two sons went on a journalist's live stream, their voices trembling as they narrated how their husband and father was murdered, stoned to death by his own blood brother.

His children stood there, watching the horror unfold, powerless.

Their mother had only gone to the market, only to return to the unthinkable.

And then, there’s the mother who left her three children at home to sit for an exam, only to return and find them gone. 

She searched, called their names, checked every corner of the house, only to be met with a sight no parent should ever have to endure, her babies, lifeless, stuffed inside the freezer. Killed by hands unknown.

Or the father who could barely speak through his tears as he narrated how his only daughter, just 12 years old, was stabbed to death. Her killer? A neighbor’s daughter, barely 14. A simple argument turned into an irreversible tragedy.

How did we get here?

How did bloodshed become so normal, so casual, so rampant? 

We scroll through social media and see another killing, another mother wailing, another father broken beyond words. 

We shake our heads, maybe type “God forbid” in the comment section, and move on, until the next horror surfaces.

The Bible spoke of these days, “perilous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:1). And here we are. 

A time when love has grown cold, when darkness spreads its wings over the land, when we fear not strangers but those closest to us.

But how do we keep our sanity in the midst of all this? 

How do we stop our hearts from sinking under the weight of these stories?

The answer, dear brothers and sisters, is Jesus.

If we focus only on these atrocities, fear will take hold of us, weakening our faith, drowning our hope. 

But we must remember, we are not alone. We are not abandoned. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) is not just a verse; it is a lifeline.

The devil’s greatest weapon is distraction.

He wants us to see only the horror, to forget the God who still reigns, who still protects, who still gives peace even in the storm.

These are not the times to let our love for Christ grow cold. If there’s ever been a moment to hold on to Him tightly, this is it.

Life is spiritual. If you do not understand this, you risk walking unprotected, prey to forces beyond human comprehension.

Evil is real, but so is the power of God.

Let this be a wake-up call, not just to lament, but to return to the one place of safety we have: the presence of God. 

Because in a world where darkness tries to make itself at home, we must be the ones who carry the light.

Hope you were blessed by this piece?