Two Catholic Priests and at least 17 worshippers have been killed in an attack by herdsmen on St Ignatius Catholic Church in Ukpor -Mbalom community in Gwer East Local Government of Benue State in Nigeria.
Stressing that the country will not bow to the machinations of evildoers, President Buhari vowed that the assailants would be hunted down and made to pay for the sacrilege committed. The Catholic Diocese of Makurdi confirmed the killing of two of its priests, Fathers Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha, in an early hour attack on St Ignatius Quasi Parish.
A statement by its Director of Communications, Rev Fr Moses Iorapuu, said that the attacks were perpetrated by herdsmen who stormed the Mbalom community and killed the two priests during the morning mass at the church.
The Diocese expressed regret at the nonchalant attitude of the security agencies in containing the killings. It said the herdsmen, who stormed the community, burnt down houses, destroyed crops and killed people. The church, there- fore, urged the relevant authorities to stop the killings in the Benue valley.
