Nigerian Catholic Attributes Recovery from Eight Knife Stab Wounds to Divine Intervention, “miraculous work”

Abuja, 23 August, 2025 / 10:17 PM

Mercy Omebere Onyeasonor, the Nigerian Catholic who was brutally attacked by hoodlums in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in July has attributed her recovery from eight stab wounds to divine intervention.

In an interview with ACI Africa on the sidelines of a thanksgiving Mass that the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) organized in her honour, Ms. Onyeasonor recounted the events of July 17, attributing her recovery to “the mercies of God.”

“God did a wonderful and miraculous work that my mouth cannot even contain to praise Him,” Ms. Onyeasonor told ACI Africa during the Thursday, August 21 interview.

On July 17, while taking an evening walk after 7 p.m., Ms. Onyeasonor was attacked and sustained eight stab wounds.

“When the attackers came, the Lord made me not see the knife they were using. I was only seeing a baton and several stabs. I did not even feel anything touching me or blood flowing until after some minutes,” the Nigerian Catholic recounted.

The committed member of the CCRN said she was rushed to the hospital, where she realized the severity of her wounds. 

Remarkably, she said, “I survived eight stabs. The miraculous thing that God did again is that under two weeks, I was made completely whole. The wounds have dried up and everything is sealed. I am standing here as a miracle because I am supposed to be in the hospital.”

Reflecting on her survival, Ms. Onyeasonor compared her experience to biblical deliverances, saying, “It is not only Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that God saved. In my own time, God replicated the same miracle.”

She explained that her commitment to quiet acts of service in her parish, such as washing toilets at the Archangels Gaduwa Parish of Abuja Archdiocese, gave her strength. 

“People keep saying I am a strong woman, but it is not my ‘strongness’. It is the mercies of God, as my name implies. That is why I called people to join me in thanking Him,” she said.

Encouraging others serving in the Church, Ms. Onyeasonor said, “Don’t get weary when you are doing the things of God. Touch lives, even those you don’t know. My key scripture is Colossians 3:23, which says to do everything unto the Lord and not unto men. God is the one who sees in secret and rewards openly.”

Her survival has inspired close friends and family members, who described it as a testimony of God’s power. 

Jane Aodoakaa, a friend, told ACI Africa, “I have a feeling as a child of God that what the Lord has packaged for her is so heavy. It might not manifest immediately, but if the Lord tarries to come; we will see the mighty works of God in her life. She is resilient, strong, and determined.”

Her elder brother, Chukwuma Onyeasonor, also expressed gratitude, saying, “When I got the message, my heart skipped, and I was very confused. I asked myself why all these things were coming to my family. But thank God, He rescued and delivered her. That is why we are here, to give thanks and glorify God for what He has done and to pray that such things will never come near us again.”

For Ms. Onyeasonor, the thanksgiving was a way of publicly testifying to what she calls God’s miraculous intervention.

 “When God shows up for you, it will be massive. That is what He did for me. He came in secret and delivered me from death and from the hands of those who attacked me,” she told ACI Africa on August 21.