Nigeria suspends Christian pilgrimages to Israel after last batch of pilgrims returned safely

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Monday, March 09, 2026

Nigerian authorities have suspended Christian pilgrimages to Israel, with the leader of the official body that coordinates such trips offering up prayers for peace amid unrest in the Middle East.

The Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission, the regulatory body responsible for organizing, coordinating and supervising Christian pilgrimages from Nigeria to holy sites, shared its decision on social media last week. 

During a press conference in Lagos, NCPC’s Executive Secretary, Bishop Prof. Stephen Adegbite, stated that the commission “prioritizes the safety and comfort of Nigerian pilgrims. Israel declared a state of emergency after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, and Iran launched missiles toward Israel and other Middle East countries in response. 

The attacks have resulted in the deaths of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking public officials. Counterstrikes from Iran have forced Israelis to remain on alert and take cover in bomb shelters.

Last Sunday, an Iranian ballistic missile strike in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh killed at least nine people, some of them inside a bomb shelter, and the attack left dozens of others wounded. 

Due to the current situation in the Middle East, NCPC has placed all pilgrimage exercises, including the ones conducted by private pilgrimage operators, on hold “until the situation normalizes,” according to the announcement.

“The NCPC is monitoring the situation closely and appreciates the cooperation of stakeholders and the media,” the regulatory body stated in its announcement. “Bishop Adegbite urged everyone to pray for peace in Jerusalem and the Middle East.” 

NCPC announced the decision alongside the news that its last batch of pilgrims had arrived safely at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Tuesday. With the pilgrims’ safe return, NCPC declared that it had “successfully concluded the 2025 Main Pilgrimage exercise to Israel and Jordan.”

Another group of Christians impacted by the ongoing tensions in the Middle East arrived home safely in the United States last week after finding themselves stranded in Israel due to the Iranian counterstrikes against the country. 

Forty-one members of the Calvary Chapel Summerville, a church in South Carolina, arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Thursday afternoon. Charles Timmerman, assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel, told The Christian Post that the group took a bus from Israel to Jordan before finally flying back home. 

“Our faith in God is the most important thing in our lives, and we are just deeply grateful to our God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and then for the prayers that have come in from across the country,” Timmerman said. “People have stepped up, and we are very deeply grateful.”

Timmerman expressed gratitude “for all the support from our local politicians,” as the church was “directly in contact with” the offices of Republican U.S. Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of Tennessee. Mace even reached out and communicated directly with Calvary Chapel’s senior pastor, according to Timmerman. 

The group had been scheduled to return home on Sunday, but after receiving a warning from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, they changed the day that they planned to leave. 

Shortly after they arrived at the airport and were waiting for their flight to take off, the Israeli airport was shut down amid the Iranian counterattacks, leaving the group stranded. 

“We were going through security and that’s when the war broke out,” Calvary Chapel Pastor Vic Carroll told WCSC/Gray News. “The alarms went off. They ushered us all to the bomb shelters.”

“Every time we head to the bomb shelter. You’ve only got a few minutes to get there once the alarm goes off and we’re hearing the explosions going off over our heads, it’s just completely surreal. It’s unbelievable.”