The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has said that persecution of Christians is on the rise across the country.
He made this known during the commissioning of the 40,000-capacity headquarters building and church auditorium of the Deeper Life Bible Church in Gbagada, Lagos.
He said that the persecution of Christians included being prevented from erecting their religious worship centres, among others.
However, he said that despite the rise in religious intolerance, the government under President Muhammadu Buhari would continue to work to fight the menace and called all Nigerians across religious divides to embrace unity.
Osinbajo said the president had tasked him with finding grounds for peaceful co-existence in places experiencing the challenges of religious intolerance, which he described as a major challenge against the socio-economic revival of Nigeria.
He said, “Persecution of Christians is on the rise. The devil is hard at work, stoking religious tension. I call on all Christians not to be broken even as security are working hard to prevent such occurrences and protect the lives and property of every citizen.
“The devil’s biggest agenda is stoke up a religious conflict in Nigeria, one that would make it impossible for anyone to preach the gospel while the security agencies continue to work relentlessly to wipe out the perpetrators of these evil acts.
“And to bring a permanent end to all of the killings going on in the name of herdsmen, Boko Haram or any other name, we as a body of Christ must not lose focus.
“We are called to bring men and women to salvation, even those who kill. The enemy wants us to stand on our pulpits and preach hate but we will obey the Lord Jesus Christ, who said we must love our enemy and pray even for those who persecute us. There is no person born or yet to be born that can stop the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
He called on the church to pray for the leaders of the country as written in the Bible, describing governance as a “spiritual warfare”.