The two Catholic priests and 17 parishioners slain by suspected herdsmen on April 24 in Benue State were buried on May 22 amid nationwide peaceful protest by the Catholic faithful. The two priests, Rev Fathers Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha, and 17 members of the congregation while killed during an early morning mass at St Ignatius Catholic Church at Ayar Mbalom in the Gwer East Local Govern-ment Area of Benue State. The 19 were given a mass burial on May 22 at Se Sugh Maria Pilgrimage Centre, Ayati Ikpayongo in Benue State.
In attendance was the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who conveyed President Muhammadu Buhari’s condolence message to the Catholic Church and the people of Benue. Osinbajo, while lamenting the killing, said though nothing could be done to restore the lives of the slain, “we can ensure justice for them by apprehending and punishing the assailants.” The Christian Association of Nigeria called on Buhari to suspend his second term ambition, till he had addressed and stopped the killings by herdsmen.
Catholic faithful across the country embarked on a peaceful protests in compliance with the directive by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Abeo-kuta, Ogun State, Oluka-yode Odetoyinbo, and his counterpart in Jalingo, Taraba State, Dr Charles Hammawa, demanded Buhari’s resignation for failing in his responsibility of protecting lives and property of Nigerians.
Speaking during a requiem mass at St Anne Catholic Church, Ibara, Ogun State, Odetoyinbo noted that after the April 24 attack in Benue, more people had been killed by marauding herdsmen across the country with the government feeling helpless.
