Up to 200 Christians were killed in an attack reportedly carried out by Islamic Fulani militants last Friday in the Nigerian state of Benue.
Pope Leo XIV condemned the attack calling it “a terrible massacre” in which “200 people were killed with extreme cruelty”.
“I pray that security, justice, and peace will prevail in Nigeria, a beloved country so affected by various forms of violence.” he said.
The Pope also extended special prayers for “rural Christian communities” in the region where an estimated 62,000 Christians have been slaughtered by Muslim militants since the year 2000, according to Genocide Watch.
Islamic terror groups such as Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani militias are active in the country.
Aid to the Church in Need, a charity focused on supporting persecuted Catholics around the globe, reports the comments of a local clergyman caught up in the attack who said “earlier the same evening, police had repelled the attackers as they tried to storm Yelewata’s St Joseph’s Church, where up to 700 IDPs [internally displaced people] lay sleeping.”
It was reported that after this the militants made for the town’s market square where they used fuel to set fire to the doors of the displaced people’s accommodation, before opening fire in an area where more than 500 people were asleep.
Those we tried to flee were met with machete attacks, ACN says.
Fr. Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee and others, described narrowly escaping the militants by dropping to the floor of their church’s presbytery when gunfire rang out.
Fr. Angbianbee described the aftermath of the attack saying, “What I saw was truly gruesome. People were slaughtered. Corpses were scattered everywhere.”
“There is no question about who carried out the attack. They were definitely Fulanis. They were shouting ‘Alahu Akhbar’.” he said.
He criticised local security forces saying that they were poorly equipped and unable to resist the onslaught from the Islamic terror group.
Nigerian Catholic priest, Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch, described the attack by “the dreaded Fulani herdsmen”, saying that “Homes were destroyed, families torn apart, lives extinguished in cold blood.”
“Yet, in the face of such tragedy, the silence from the highest office in the land is deafening.” he said.
Fr. Ugwoke criticized the Nigerian president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu, himself a Muslim, saying that there was “Not a word from the president of Nigeria.”
“No visit, no national address, no visible sign of empathy.” he said.
Turning his attention to the governor of Benue State – Catholic priest Fr. Hyacinth Alia – Fr. Ugwoke said that he “seems helpless in the face of the attacks.” calling this not only “disappointing” but “dangerous”.
In the aftermath of the attack, governor Alia said that, “One life lost is one too many” and that the violence was “beyond bandatory”. He said that the militants had come “armed to the teeth” to “drive people out” and to “kill” and “maim”.
“When leaders fail to respond to violence, they not only betray the people they swore to protect, but they embolden the perpetrators.” said Fr. Ugwoke, adding that the “duty” of the government is the “protection of life and property”.
“Anything less is a failure of leadership. When those entrusted with power choose silence over justice, and indifference over compassion, they become complicit in the violence they refuse to confront.”
The priest warned that Nigeria “cannot move forward under a leadership that does not value every Nigerian life equally. Our leaders must be reminded: Silence is not neutrality. Silence in the face of bloodshed is betrayal.”
“We demand justice. We demand security. We demand accountability from our elected leaders. The time to speak and act is now.” he concluded.
