Shutterstock
More than 50 Catholics were murdered in Nigeria in a string of attacks that a local association of priests believes are a response to a bishop’s condemnation of religious persecution at the hands of Fulani herdsmen, a nomadic Muslim ethnic group that has persecuted Christians and other minorities.
In a May 27 press statement, the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA) of Makurdi Diocese stated that the killings are a backlash against Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe’s message in the US and England decrying religious persecution in Nigeria and Benue.
>> Nigerian bishop to UK Parliament: Church in Nigeria is ‘under Islamist extermination’ <<
“This is a proof beyond doubts. Ahume and Jimba communities were attacked the following day, 25th May. Later in the evening, Aondoana village, the hometown of the Catholic Bishop of Makurdi, Most Revd Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, CMF, was also invaded,” the priests wrote. “The priest in charge of the mission at Aondoana, Revd Fr. Peter Shima, VC and the Claretian Sisters had to run into the bush for safety; they are yet to recover from the trauma! Many people, including a two-year-old and a pregnant woman, were gruesomely murdered.”
Multiple Catholic clergy narrowly escaped targeted assassination attempts, according to the association.
The association of priests called upon Benue State’s Gov. Father Hyacinth Alia — himself a Catholic priest whose bishop suspended him when the priest ran for political office — to wield his electoral mandate in defense of the ethnic minority Tiv people in Benue, who have long suffered under what the priests term “ethnic cleansing” by militant Fulani herdsmen.
“We therefore call on our brother the governor of Benue State Revd Fr Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia to use the overwhelming mandate he received from the masses and stop the ethnic cleansing of Tiv people by these terrorists’ herdsmen,” the priests wrote. “Failure to be decisive in coordinating and directly confronting these terrorists and their masterminders to bring to an end the persistent bloodshed and injustice on his weak and defenseless masses in the villages, would be seen as indifference or insensitivity and ‘to be silent is to die twice.’”
NCDPA also appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging a national response to what they describe as a coordinated insurgency by foreign-backed terrorist groups.
They also criticized the Nigerian military for what the priests described as a “low energy” response to the attacks. Despite the proximity of army installations to several of the attacks, the army did not intervene to protect innocent civilians.
“Their inability to stop the attacks or go after the terrorists, betrays professionalism, and this speaks [of] complicity,” the priests stated.
The lack of government presence, compensation, or even a public show of solidarity has, according to the priests, compounded the trauma of the affected communities.
“Even the Catholic bishop, whose village was attacked and whose priests were shot, has not been visited,” the priests lamented.
The priests demanded that the government take action immediately, that victims are compensated, and that displaced persons are returned to their ancestral lands. They urged youths to stand firm in protecting their communities while remaining within the bounds of the law.
The priests concluded, “In these trying times however, we entrust our people and land to the mercy of God while calling on all faithful to remain steadfast in prayer, courageous in truth, and unwavering in hope.”
