* Bello

By Pita Chib, Minna

Governor, Abubakar Bello, and people of Niger State, have turned to God for intervention over the insecurity challenges, since all efforts including security seem to have failed .

The state government led by the Governor have asked religious bodies to stand in gap and pray against the insurgency that have bedeviled the state saying "we have spent more on security but the situation still persists

The special prayers organised by the government held at the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Secretriat was led by the State Chairman of CAN, Revd. Mathias Echioda had believers and government representatives.

The Governor who was represented by the Commissioner of Mineral Resources, Sunday Kolo urged Christians in the state to pray and ask God for intervention on the security challenges and to pray for those in troubled local government areas.

It should be recalled that the Governor was at the Minna central mosque on Saturday, where he said government has put in place a robust action plan that will completely eradicate activities of armed bandits.

According to Kolo "the situation of security is critical and Mr. Governor knows this, because the more he spends more money the worse it becomes and so, he (Governor) resolved to prayers and call on all Nigerlites to cry to God to intervene and grant us victory.

"Even the security agencies can not curtail the challenges anymore, and so, we will not relent in prayers until the situation comes to normal."

Earlier, the state CAN Chairman, Revd. Mathias Echioda applauded the state Governor for realising the importance of God's power, saying "prayer is a very potent tool to succeed. If the Government says it can't handle it anymore, who else can do it except God?"

Echioda hailed the introduction of Vigilante groups in the state, adding that, "security is everyman's business, let's not leave it to the government alone or rely on CAN. We should trust God for a lasting solution".