The Bishop of Makurdi Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe des-cribed the persistent attacks on Christians in his diocese as “genocide.” Speaking after the latest wave of killings by jihadist Fulani herdsmen in Benue State in late May, in which hundreds of Christians died, Bishop Anagbe said: “No nation watches her citizens slaughtered like animals and says there is nothing to be done. It’s genocide.” In May, at least 100 Christians were killed in separate attacks in Gwer West, part of the diocese, and 5,000 people were displaced. Bishop Anagbe told the ACI Africa agency on 4 June that the killings had forced the closure of 17 parishes since 27 May.
“When we talk about 17 parishes being shut, it means an entire community has been displaced and taken over. They cannot go back,” he said.
A statement from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) expressed “deep anguish of soul” at “the utterly barbaric massacre of innocent civilians in Benue State.” “These cold-blooded attacks on defenceless communities – where countless have been slaughtered, homes destroyed, and families left in anguish – are an affront to God, a stain on our shared humanity, and a terrifying reminder of the utter breakdown of security in our land,” said the statement, signed by the CBCN president Abp Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri.
“There is no justification whatsoever for the continuous bloodletting that has become the daily reality of many in Benue State and across Nigeria. The relentless attacks on innocent and defenceless communities under the watch of civil authorities constitute a grave moral and constitutional failure. This carnage must end.”
Spanish bishops speak out after leaks of their meeting with Leo XIV
The executive committee of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) meeting in Madrid this week, issued an official statement regarding the leaks
