Catholic priests urge youths to defend land, lives, and faith in Benue

● As herdsmen kill 50, shut 15 churches in Makurdi

The Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA), Makurdi Diocese, has raised the alarm over continued deadly attacks by armed herdsmen in Benue State.

The association disclosed that more than 50 people had been killed, and 15 Catholic parishes had been forced to shut down in just one month.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, the Chairman of NCDPA in Makurdi Diocese, Revd. Fr. Joseph Beba condemned the wave of violence, describing it as a calculated and coordinated effort to wipe out Tiv communities.

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He accused security forces, particularly the military stationed in the affected areas, of complicity and inaction.

“Among those affected are Catholic priests, and this has led to the closure of 15 parishes in Makurdi Diocese alone,” Fr. Beba said.

He decried what he described as the military’s silence and passivity while communities were being attacked.

The priests detailed a series of recent attacks, including the shooting of Revd. Fr. Solomon Atongo, the priest in charge of St. John’s Quasi Parish, Jimba.

Fr. Atongo was reportedly shot just 500 metres from a military checkpoint at Tse Orbiam, with no response from the stationed personnel. The community itself was later attacked.

Other communities listed as victims of the violence included Tse Orbiam, Ahume, Jimba, Nagi-Camp, Aondoana, Yelewata, and Abegana — all located within the Makurdi Diocese.

According to the priests, these assaults had resulted in numerous deaths, including women, children, and even a pregnant woman.

“These acts are inhumane, barbaric, and a gross violation of the sanctity and dignity of human life,” the priests stated.

They further suggested that the attacks might be linked to Bishop Wilfred Anagbe’s recent testimonies in the U.S. and Europe about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

“These attacks are a direct assault on the Bishop of Makurdi Diocese and the Catholic Church he represents. They appear coordinated and retaliatory,” they said.

They said that the bishop’s home village of Aondoana was also attacked on May 25, 2025 with clergy and nuns fleeing into the bush for safety.

In yet another attack on May 26, 2025 terrorists invaded Nagi-Camp, only five kilometres from a Nigerian Army base in Agagbe, and still, there was no military intervention.

The following night, Yelewata community in Guma Local Government Area was attacked, with an entire family wiped out and Revd. Fr. Jonathan Ukuma narrowly escaping assassination.

The priests lamented the growing sense of abandonment, noting that neither the federal nor state government had visited the victims or shown solidarity, even as communities were displaced and religious leaders attacked.

“We are not sure whose side the military is on. Their behaviour raises serious suspicions of complicity,” they said, citing the increasingly unsafe Naka-Makurdi and Taraku-Naka roads as further proof of the deteriorating security situation.

They called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to act decisively against what they called “ethnic cleansing” of the Tiv people.

They also demanded that President Bola Tinubu should declare a full-scale war on the terrorist elements identified by Governor Alia as foreign invaders.

“Failure to act decisively will be seen as indifference or complicity. To be silent is to die twice,” they warned.

The priests also called for immediate government compensation for victims and the return of displaced persons to their ancestral lands.

They insisted that the government’s constitutional duty was to protect the lives and dignity of its citizens.

Reaffirming their commitment to the gospel, the clergy said they would not be silenced and encouraged Nigerian youths to be prepared to defend their faith, farmlands, and communities within the bounds of the law.

“The right to self-defence is inalienable for all citizens,” they declared.