Terrorism and Banditry: Akpabio Seeks Spiritual Intervention for Nigeria from Italy
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has offered prayers for an end to terrorism and banditry in Nigeria and for peaceful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Akpabio made the call during a visit to the Prayer Ground of St. Padre Pio in St. Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, where he joined other Nigerians to pray for the country and seek divine intervention in its security challenges.
Speaking with St. Padre Pio TV/Radio in Italy, the Senate President said the delegation visited the prayer ground to seek God’s blessings for their families and Nigeria.
“We are all from Nigeria. We came to offer prayers and get blessings from God for ourselves, families and our dear country that is currently being ravaged by banditry and terrorism,” Akpabio said.
He added that the visit had given them a sense of fulfilment after presenting their intentions at the Catholic pilgrimage site.
“We are here on this prayer ground, and we are going home fulfilled, that we were able to touch this Holy ground, drop our intentions, which he will take to God on our behalf,” he said.
In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, Akpabio described the site as a holy ground and expressed admiration for its preservation.
“I am very impressed that the place has been well kept. This is a Holy ground. Some people who are here might not even understand the significance of this ground but those of us who are adherents and followers of Pio, believe in his intercessions,” he said.
Akpabio also recounted what he described as a miraculous recovery by his wife, Mrs. Unoma Akpabio, following a prolonged period in a coma at a hospital in Germany.
According to him, his wife spent six months in a coma after complications arising from an operation, during which he turned to St. Padre Pio and the Virgin Mary in prayer.
“My wife was in a coma for six months in a hospital in Germany. She was 98 percent dead. I used the picture of Pio to make a sign of the cross on her, instead of putting off the life-support machine she was on,” he said.
“I cried to Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, and called on Pio to intercede. Miraculously, she woke up. That hospital, up to today, is yet to understand what happened.”
Akpabio said the experience strengthened his devotion to St. Padre Pio, adding that the visit to Italy marked his 10th pilgrimage to the site.
He said his wife, after eventually being discharged, took another three months before she could remember his name and those of their children.
“We are here today to thank God and Pio for always interceding for us,” he said.
Akpabio further disclosed that the family honoured the saint by giving their son the baptismal name Pio and establishing Pio Football Academy, which provides football training and scholarships for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He said the academy caters to children from the age of nine through university level as part of the family’s efforts to preserve the memory of St. Padre Pio.
