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Cults Target Nigerian Youth; Bible Clubs Offer Alternative
Emmanuel Sani Ujah said he recalls the night of February 3, 2014, as the day he “died,” but God brought him back. Ujah was involved in a car accident, which became the impetus for his Catch Them Young Bible Club.
“I was bedridden for a month,” he said. “It was during that time I truly understood what it meant to be given a second chance.”
Though as a teenager Ujah had a vibrant faith, he said disappointment dampened his spirit and love for God after he failed to secure admission to a university. Lying immobile in the hospital, 21-year-old Ujah thought about his earlier excitement for his faith.
Convinced that God had spared his life for a purpose, Ujah decided to start a club to help children develop and keep their fire for God into adulthood. Months later, he started the first club with six children in Abuja, Nigeria.
Young Nigerians like Ujah can face many challenges to faith. Cult groups, street gangs, and internet fraudsters in Nigeria target high school and university students for recruitment. Apathy and social influences can also pull them away from the church. So Christian clubs are fighting to capture children’s hearts first.
“There’s a big problem with the sense of belonging,” pastor Fortune Agula Musa said. “One of the things missing in church is that children between the ages of 12 and 18 don’t know where to fit. They are not children anymore, and they are not adults.”
In Nigeria, cults and fraud networks recruit and manipulate teens by pretending to care about issues that affect them, standing up for them against injustice, and offering friendship to vulnerable students. Cult groups in Nigeria often have ties to organized crime, according to research by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Students pulled into these organizations must show loyalty to the groups and may engage in illegal acts. In some cases, clashes between cults groups turn deadly.
Musa’s church, Throne Room Glory Gwagwalada in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, started The Oxygen Club for 12-to-19-year-olds. The pastor formed the Bible club because of his own experiences: In 2004, a cult attempted to recruit him during his freshman year at the Federal University of Agriculture in Benue State.
Musa said his membership in a Christian club called All for Him saved him. The club gave new students on campus an orientation and warned them about the signs of cult recruitment.
Because of this, Musa recognized the cult’s “courtship” for what it was. First, members of the cult invited him and other first-year students to a party for freshmen. But that party was the beginning of the recruitment process.
“It was supposed to be like a riverside party, but when it got late in the night, they put off the generator,” Musa said. “And then it became a recruitment drive. They called it blending—they blend by beating them badly.”
Musa chose not to go, but students who attended told him about it later. Some students resisted the blending when they realized the cult had tricked them into attending a recruitment event. Musa said those in the cult beat the resisters especially hard, while those who showed a willingness to join were not so badly beaten.
Instead of getting involved in cult activities, Musa directed his energy into dance, drama, music, and learning at All for Him. This helped him remain “grounded in faith,” an experience he tries to replicate for students attending The Oxygen Club.
In addition to dealing with cult groups, Nigerian students face challenges similar to many in the US. Exposure to peer pressure, to new academic viewpoints, and to different religions in high school or college can lead underprepared students to question or to leave Christianity. Apathy toward faith can settle in as other priorities clamor for attention.
In the US, 35 percent of adults have switched religions between childhood and adulthood. Although changing religions is less common in Nigeria, a growing number of young people are moving from Christianity to traditional African religions. Research by George Barna indicates that an individual’s worldview sets around age 13—even if religious affiliation shifts later—so early discipleship is crucial.
“When children are taught the way of the Lord early in life, they will avoid anything that will lead them astray,” Ujah said.
Ujah competes with cult recruitment by engaging Bible-club members in a variety of activities. The club builds biblical knowledge through quizzes. The group also holds weekly meetings that give members a time and place to talk about daily challenges, and it provides mentorship from older members. Ujah also uses his background in tech to teach practical topics such as basic technology skills.
An early member of the club, Ashiofe Lakoju, said the club helped him shape and sustain Christian values. Ujah taught lessons on peer pressure and sexual purity, in addition to regular Bible lessons, to young men in the club.
“He gives us Scriptures to back up every teaching he takes us through,” Lakoju said.
Lakoju credited discipleship from Catch Them Young and from his church for helping him when curiosity about sex led him into pornography and anger issues resulted in fights during high school. He remembered that “the Scriptures say [to] guard your heart with all diligence.”
Ujah’s efforts have not always yielded success. He said one of his most failures was when one teen girl became pregnant with her boyfriend despite Ujah’s discipleship. “That incident still haunts me to this day,” he said.
He still blames himself, saying he feels he should have done more to guide her. Though more than 33 children have graduated from the club, Ujah still remembers the one he feels he let down.
“It’s a wound I carry and a lesson that keeps me watchful and prayerful over every child now,” Ujah told CT.
The club is now discipling 30 children and has expanded to include a group in Lokoja, Nigeria, but Ujah said lack of teachers presents a real challenge.
“It limits how far we can reach,” Ujah said. “With more willing hands and hearts, we could touch even more young lives.”
Christianitytoday.com
The Vice Chancellor of Atiba University, Oyo, Professor Sunday Okeniyi, has enjoined the newly employed staff of the institution to develop the spirit of teamwork, respect, and discipline, which are the hallmarks of every successful institution.
Okeniyi disclosed this during the orientation programme for the newly employed staff of the institution.
While welcoming the newly employed staff, he also congratulated them on their successful appointment into the fast-rising institution. “Your joining us today is not by chance, but by merit, commitment, and the will of God. Atiba University is a citadel of learning and character formation, envisioned to nurture and produce men and women of excellence, integrity, and service. By becoming part of this family, you are now co-builders of this noble vision.”
The V-C said the orientation programme was a deliberate initiative of the management to formally integrate the new staff into the University system. “It is designed to give you a clear understanding of our mission, vision, core values, rules, and operational culture. Our goal is not just for you to work here, but for you to thrive, contribute meaningfully, and leave an indelible mark on the growth and transformation of this University.”
He explained that the university places a premium on academic excellence, innovative research, moral uprightness, and community development. These values define the identity and are the standards the staff must all uphold in their respective assignments—whether as academic staff shaping young minds or as non-teaching staff providing essential support services that make our work possible.
While admitting much needed to be done, Okeniyi said the institution has recorded remarkable progress within a short time. “The future we envision—a future of global competitiveness, leadership in innovation and knowledge, and impact within and beyond Nigeria—requires the collective commitment of every member of staff. That includes you. Your dedication, creativity, and professionalism are needed to propel us forward,” he said.
News
This Is War, Kill Every Single One Of Them – Fani-Kayode Blows Hot Over Zamfara Mosque Massacre
Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has condemned the gruesome murder of five worshippers during an early morning prayer in Yandoto village, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
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Speaking via his 𝕏 account, he insisted that the killers should be wiped out, adding that there should be no room for discussions or negotiations.
Fani-Kayode asserted that the killers are terrorists not bandits and described their actions as an act of war.
He wrote: “These are not bandits. Pls stop calling them bandits. They are bloodthirsty killers and terrorists and every single one of them should be wiped off the face of the earth.
“If our people cannot worship God in peace then we have nothing. No negotiation, no discussion, no ransom payments, no rehabilitation.
“This is WAR. Kill every single one of them, wipe out their blood line and decimate their communities and abodes. There is no place on earth for those that slaughter innocent civilians.”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has accused Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of failing to address the escalating banditry crisis in the state.
Naija News reports that a deadly attack occurred on Sunday in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area, which left several residents and vigilante members dead.
Speaking via a statement on Monday, the Publicity Secretary of the party, Olusegun Olusola Adewara, described the massacre as “a despicable and senseless act.”
He blamed the governor for the insecurity situation in the state, noting that it is a monumental leadership failure.
Adewara said, “The gruesome videos of the casualties circulating online make it look like Kwara is now at war. Under AbdulRahman’s watch, terror is reigning, kidnappers are taking over rural villages, and nowhere is safe again.”
The opposition party faulted AbdulRazaq’s alleged silence and absence from the affected community, insisting that a responsible leader should have personally visited Oke-Ode to commiserate with victims’ families and give assurances of decisive action.
It further accused the governor of neglecting local vigilantes and security personnel “battling criminals in the bush,” while diverting funds to “footballers and entertainers outside the state.”
The PDP’s criticism comes amid rising concern in Kwara North, where repeated bandit attacks have forced residents to abandon farms, schools, and businesses.
News
Nigeria @65: Atiku Knocks Tinubu’s Government In Strongly-Worded Independence Day Message; Details Emerge
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has praised Nigerians for what he described as “uncommon patience, endurance, and resilience despite living under suffocating socio-economic and security conditions”
In his Independence Day message to Nigerians, the opposition leader alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration had abandoned Nigerians to their fate
Atiku lamented that Nigerians were enduring pains from “raging insecurity, rising food scarcity, mass unemployment, and a dangerous climate of hopelessness all “compounded by the insensitivity of the APC-led administration
In an Independence Day message released by his media office, obtained by Legit.ng, Atiku lamented that Nigerians are enduring excruciating pains from raging insecurity, rising food scarcity, mass unemployment, and a dangerous climate of hopelessness.
The presidential hopeful accused the Tinubu administration of being insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.
Atiku declared: “It is tragic that in a country blessed with immense human and material resources, millions of our people have been reduced to refugees and beggars in their fatherland. Every responsible government holds the welfare and security of its citizens as supreme. But what we have today is an administration that has abandoned its people. Hunger is killing Nigerians, bandits are massacring communities, yet President Tinubu and his cabinet stand by, unmoved and uncaring.”
Furthermore, Atiku called on citizens not to lose faith, reminding Nigerians that the 2027 election provides a clear opportunity to reject bad leadership and reclaim the promise of a better tomorrow.
He said: “The beauty of democracy lies in the power of the ballot. Oppressed and battered as our people may feel today, they will have the chance to sweep away this inept government at the next polls. That is the power no cabal can take away from the people.”
At 65, Atiku noted, Nigeria remains “a giant moving painfully slow on feet of clay”.
The 78-year-old blamed Nigeria’s condition on “a direct result of decades of poor leadership and wasteful governance.”
He bemoaned: “Yet, he urged Nigerians to keep hope alive, insisting that with the right leadership, the country can still rise from the ashes of failed governance to reclaim its rightful place among the comity of nations.”
PRESS RELEASE
Nigeria @65: @atiku Hails Nigerians’ Courage, Blasts APC Over Economic Strangulation
Former Vice President of Nigeria and Waziri Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar, has paid tribute to the uncommon patience, endurance, and resilience of Nigerians who, despite living under… pic.twitter.com/cPnI9KzxrJ
— Paul Ibe (@omonlakiki) September 30, 2025
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