ACI Africa, Jun 20, 2025 /
13:41 pm
The Catholic bishops in Nigeria’s Onitsha ecclesiastical province have condemned recent attacks in Benue state, which reportedly resulted in the death of some 200 people, and called for fasting and prayer in honor of the victims.
In a statement issued June 18, the bishops denounced the “almost daily bloodshed” in the West African nation, including the recent gruesome killing of civilians by suspected herdsmen on June 13 and similar attacks on June 15.
“We are deeply anguished and shocked by this relentless shedding of innocent blood in different parts of our beloved country, Nigeria. We describe these acts as inhuman, barbaric, and a gross violation of the sanctity and dignity of human life,” the bishops said.
They called on the Nigerian government to fulfill its duty of protecting citizens and demand that the state take urgent action.
“We call on the Nigerian government to immediately put an end to the almost daily bloodshed … and restore security, justice, and peace in Nigeria,” they said.
The bishops of the Onitsha Archdiocese and the Dioceses of Abakaliki, Awgu, Awka, Ekwulobia, Enugu, Nnewi, and Nsukka said that as spiritual leaders, they want the people of God under their pastoral care to seek divine intervention amid the violence and killings.
“God is our hope and our hope cannot disappoint us,” they said, alluding to the ongoing 2025 Jubilee Year, which the late Pope Francis officially launched on Christmas Eve 2024 with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
In their statement, the bishops declared June 20 as a special day of prayer and fasting, particularly for peace in the Benue and Enugu states, and other regions in the West African nation suffering from violence.
“We invite all priests and religious in our province to observe the day of fasting … and dedicate their holy Masses, rosaries, and Divine Office for this noble intention,” the bishops said.
On June 13, Islamist Fulani militants attacked the town of Yelewata in Benue state, killing at least 200 people in what international aid organizations have termed the “worst killing spree” in the Nigerian region.
In the widely condemned attacks, with Pope Leo XIV extending his spiritual closeness to victims of the massacre, the attackers reportedly targeted Christians living as internally displaced people (IDPs), setting fire to buildings where families were taking shelter and assaulting with machetes anyone who attempted to flee.
Meanwhile, bishops in Nigeria’s Abuja ecclesiastical province have conveyed condolences to Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi and the people of Benue state following the killings.
“We have been deeply saddened… and express our condolences to the bereaved families. These kinds of attacks… will only intensify fear, hatred, and polarization in society. The attacks against innocent people are a sin against God, who offers life as a divine gift,” the bishops said in a statement issued June 18.
The bishops, who include the ordinaries of the Abuja Archdiocese and its counterparts of Gboko, Idah, Katsina-Ala, Lafia, Lokoja, Makurdi, and Otukpo, call on the “relevant authorities to ensure that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are brought to justice.”
The bishop of the Lagos Archdiocese declared Sunday, June 22, a day of prayer for peace and protest against the killings, particularly those in Benue and Enugu states.
In a letter to institutions in his metropolitan see issued June 18, Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins directed all priests in Lagos to celebrate Mass on June 22 for this intention.
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Additionally, he said, rosary processions are to beheld in church compounds in the evening, led by Marian devotional groups, to invoke the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace.
The bishop of the Lagos Archdiocese emphasizes that the day of prayer and protest is a peaceful expression of outrage and a cry for government accountability.
“The earth is tired of drinking innocent blood,” he said in his June 18 statement, adding: “The conviction of being deliberately targeted is thick in the air. People need to be reassured that they are safe and secure, irrespective of where they live within the borders of our country.”
He joined his voice to that of Pope Leo XIV, who, during his Sunday, June 15, Angelus, condemned the killings and prayed for the victims.
“We thank our Holy Father … for calling the attention of the world to the Benue massacre … Let us all, with one voice, call on the security agencies and governments … not to look away from the suffering of the people of Benue,” Adewale said.
Amid the bloodshed and public frustration, Benue state Gov. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, the priest whom Bishop William Amove Avenya of the Gboko Diocese suspended in May 2022, has rejected growing calls for citizens to arm themselves in self defense.
Speaking in an interview on AIT News on June 17, Alia acknowledged that the temptation to take up arms might appear logical.
“Each time I speak about this, I get very passionate about it. But I’m cautiously guiding citizens,” he said. “It is not just advisable for you to say we’ll pick out knives, machetes, and sticks and get out there to fight. That’s not good.”
He continued: “Where you have people who decide to just wake up because of sentiments, emotions attached to what is happening to us and within us, I think we will be rendering ourselves more vulnerable. So, I wouldn’t advocate self-defense,” he said.
Instead, he urged citizens to focus on community policing, which he described as the “only way” to address local security threats effectively.
The governor emphasized: “I would encourage us to keep calling for community policing. There are conversations around community policing. I’m one of the governors who accepted it. If it is community policing, the full power resides with those who understand the terrain where we are attacked, who know the length and breadth of our borders.”
This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.
