An editorial for the Nigerian Catholic Network, written by Church authorities at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja, has commended Pope Leo XIV for his prompt message, “condemning the evil visited on the people and praying for their souls.” According to the editorial, the Nigerian Church appreciates the Pope’s closeness to Nigeria over the killings in Benue State. They, however, sharply criticised the silence, inaction, and how Nigerian authorities often handle these matters.
Vatican News.
Pope Leo XIV offered prayers for the victims of a devastating massacre in Benue State, Nigeria, where approximately 200 people—mostly internally displaced persons sheltering at a local Catholic mission—were brutally killed in a midnight attack between the 13 and 14 June. The Pope spoke out about the killings during his Sunday Angelus prayer, last Sunday.
The food supply chain is threatened
The violence in Benue State is now also affecting Nigeria’s food supply chain, and Catholic Secretariat authorities wonder why the violence and killings are not given the attention that they deserve. They ask: “The question now is not just ‘Who are the killers?’ but ‘Why is the government refusing to name and confront them?’ Is it fear of losing political capital? Is it complicity? Is ethnic solidarity outweighing constitutional duty?”
“Benue, the ‘Food Basket of the Nation,’ now reaps harvests of death. Sadly, the Ministry of Agriculture, in responding to the acute food deficit in the country, would rather call for prayer and fasting than address the factors that keep farmers away from their farms and their ancestral lands.” the editorial states.
Nigerians are tired of the violence
The Church authors chronicle several atrocities that have occurred in recent years.
“The scale of (the violence and) devastation defies reason. Over the last decade, the death toll in Benue State alone is estimated to have exceeded 5,000 with over 1.5 million persons internally displaced, according to reports by Amnesty International and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).”
Amnesty International Nigeria has also condemned the recent violence, urging the Nigerian government to “immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue State and bring the actual perpetrators to justice.”
The recent incident in Benue State is part of a larger crisis in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, where attacks on farming communities have led to significant displacement and loss of life.
The silencing of critical voices
Nigerian Church authorities further criticise what they call the silencing of those who dare to speak out against killings in Nigeria.
“The situation is further worsened because some voices that have dared to cry out for justice have been hounded and intimidated. Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi has become a thorn in the conscience of the nation—not because he lies, but because he dares to tell the truth. He has persistently raised the alarm, documented the horror, and exposed the government’s silence. For his courage, he has received threats. But his voice echoes the long-suffering cry of his people. He has publicly declared that the killings are not random but part of an orchestrated attempt to exterminate the indigenous people of Benue from their ancestral lands. He is not alone.”
