Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Abuja, Nigeria, has requested intelligence assets and weaponry from U.S. President Donald Trump to combat violence in the country.
The Nigerian prelate made his remarks during an informational briefing in Madrid, where the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) presented the campaign “May Persecution Not Have the Last Word: Heal Nigeria,” which aims to strengthen faith, heal the trauma caused by violence, and protect the persecuted.
Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, at Aid to the Church in Need headquarters in Spain. | Credit: Nicolás de Cárdenas/ACI Prensa
Kaigama noted that the U.S. president was “the first head of state to declare as a global leader, clearly and unequivocally, that Christians in Nigeria are being persecuted.”
“We thank him,” noted the archbishop, who lamented that for years, only organizations like ACN had spoken out against the situation amid the silence of Western nations.
“I was glad when I heard Donald Trump say, ‘We are going to go to Nigeria; we are going to put an end to Boko Haram’ … at Christmas, we received a gift — a bomb that fell on Nigerian soil — and, truth be told, I could not say whether it did any good,” the prelate commented.
He explained that, initially, they welcomed Trump’s condemnation of the violence but in the long run it has proven counterproductive: “We thought he would come to strike at the root of the problem, utilizing intelligence, equipment, everything necessary to eradicate Boko Haram and allow us to live in peace. But a single bomb hasn’t accomplished much.”
“On the contrary, these people are now more emboldened; they attack with regular frequency and are making things worse,” he said. “That incident, coupled with Donald Trump’s words, has greatly inflamed the passions of the Islamists in that territory. The number of attacks, the number of kidnappings carried out by Boko Haram and other groups, has been rising ever since.”
The Catholic Church in Nigeria is under constant threat and attack from Islamic groups and other gangs. | Credit: ACN Spain
“So we say to Donald Trump: Give us intelligence reports, give us weapons, collaborate with our government, and then find a way to eradicate all these military groups,” stated the prelate, who also sent a message to the leaders of other Western nations: “Stop ignoring what is happening in Africa, especially in Nigeria.”
Deliberate Islamist effort to reduce Christian presence
“Nigeria is bleeding,” Kaigama continued. “Nigeria is wounded. Nigeria is being destroyed by multiple factors. And we must ask God to help us heal Nigeria.”
“There is a deliberate program by Islamists to reduce the Christian presence in this country,” he continued. “They are instilling fear into the laity who gather to celebrate Mass — bombarding them, shooting at them, threatening them, and preventing them from assembling.”
He charged that “there is a deliberate strategy to thwart the growth of the Church, as well as the expansion of evangelization in Nigeria.”
The archbishop warned that “if this continues, we will be in danger of losing our faith and also of being unable to remain strong enough to promote the faith and identity of our Church.”
“If we are left alone, we will become sickened in mind and spirit. We are suffering,” he lamented.
Heal Nigeria
During the campaign launch, José María Garrido, the director of ACN Spain, described the dire situation facing Nigeria, where Boko Haram’s terrorism in the north is compounded by the criminal actions of extremist Fulani herdsmen groups and kidnapping gangs.
From 2015 to 2025 alone, more than 200 priests were kidnapped across 70% of the country’s dioceses. Of these, 183 were released, 12 were murdered, and three others died as a result of the conditions of their captivity.
From 2015 to 2025, more than 200 priests were kidnapped in Nigeria. | Credit: ACN Spain
More than 80 communities have been attacked, and there are over 3 million internally displaced persons in the country due to the violence.
To strengthen the faith of persecuted Christians, ACN Spain is fundraising for the construction of centers for psychological and spiritual assistance in the dioceses of Makurdi and Abuja.
Furthermore, aid has been planned for the seminary in Kaduna — one of the dioceses hardest hit by kidnappings — to ensure that one of the universal Church’s greatest sources of vocations can carry on despite the prevailing fear and hardships.
ACN Spain also seeks to provide support through various security projects, including the installation of alarm systems in parish centers and the provision of vehicles, enabling priests to minister to rural communities without the risk of being kidnapped.
ACN Spain supports the persecuted Church in Nigeria through contributions that have steadily increased in recent years — exceeding 3 million euros ($3.48 million) in 2025 — and which the organization aims to sustain through its “Heal Nigeria” campaign.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
