A Port Harcourt woman, Habibat Salawudeen Ihiovi-Jack, is closing in on a Guinness World Record after reading the Bible aloud continuously for over 100 hours, in a faith-driven endurance feat that has captivated churchgoers and social media users across Nigeria.
Habibat Salawudeen Ihiovi-Jack began her attempt on June 22 at the Novotel hotel in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, setting her sights on 144 unbroken hours in the Word before the challenge closes on July 2. The Summit Bible Church member has already crossed the 100-hour threshold, entering what organisers describe as the final and most punishing stretch of the marathon.
Under Guinness World Records rules guiding the attempt, Habibat must read aloud continuously, with only brief, tightly monitored breaks permitted for essential needs. Footage circulating online shows her stationed at a lectern and desk, flanked by digital timers counting down her progress as cheering supporters keep vigil around her.
For Habibat, the record bid is more than a chase for global recognition. She has framed “144 Hours in the Word” as a spiritual assignment, one meant to deepen believers’ engagement with scripture. Her senior pastor, Dr Andy Osakwe of Summit Bible Churches Worldwide, has thrown his full weight behind the effort, describing it not merely as a record attempt but as a project to exalt God’s Word and stir the faith of Christians watching from near and far.
Family, friends and church members have rallied around the marathon, turning the Novotel venue into something of a pilgrimage site as well-wishers stream in to cheer her toward the finish line.
Habibat’s attempt arrives on the heels of a landmark feat by fellow Nigerian Samson Ajao, who in 2024 earned global recognition from Guinness World Records for the longest marathon reading aloud in history. The 27-year-old Ibadan native read non-stop for 215 hours, nearly nine days, smashing the previous record of 124 hours held by Kyrgyzstan’s Rysbai Isakov since 2022.
Her bid also feeds into a broader wave of Nigerians chasing Guinness glory, a trend that gained fresh momentum after Hilda Baci’s celebrated cook-a-thon thrust the country into the global spotlight for marathon endurance feats. As Habibat presses on toward the 144-hour mark, Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora are watching closely, hopeful that another record could soon bear the country’s name.
