Nigeria’s Catholic Bishops Call for Fasting, Prayer for Benue Attack Victims, Denounce “almost daily bloodshed”

“God is our hope and our hope cannot disappoint us,” they say, alluding to the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, which the late Pope Francis officially launched on the Eve of 2024 Christmas with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica of Rome.

In their statement, the Catholic Bishops declare Friday, June 20, as a special day of prayer and fasting, particularly for peace in Benue and Enugu States, and other regions in the West African nation suffering from violence.

“We invite all Priests and Religious in our province to observe the day of fasting… and dedicate their Holy Masses, Rosaries, and Divine Office for this noble intention,” Catholic Bishops in Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province say.

On June 13, Islamist Fulani militants attacked the town of Yelewata in Nigeria’s Benue State, killing at least 200 persons in what international aid organizations have termed the “worst killing spree” in the Nigerian region.

In the attack that has been widely condemned, with Pope Leo XIV extending his spiritual closeness to victims of the massacre, the attackers reportedly targeted Christians living as internally displaced people (IDPs), setting fire to buildings where families were taking shelter and assaulting with machetes anyone who attempted to flee.

Meanwhile, Catholic Bishops in Nigeria’s Abuja Ecclesiastical Province have conveyed condolences to Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi and the people of Benue State, following the June 13 killings.

“We have been deeply saddened… and express our condolences to the bereaved families. These kinds of attacks… will only intensify fear, hatred, and polarization in society. The attacks against innocent people are a sin against God, who offers life as a divine gift,” the Catholic Bishops say in a statement issued June 18.

The Catholic Bishops, who include the Local Ordinary of Abuja Archdiocese and his counterparts of Gboko, Idah, Katsina-Ala, Lafia, Lokoja, Makurdi, and Otukpo, call on the “relevant authorities to ensure that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are brought to justice.”

On his part, the Local Ordinary of Lagos Archdiocese has declared Sunday, June 22, a Day of Prayer for Peace and protest against the killings, particularly those in Benue and Enugu states.

In a letter to institutions in his Metropolitan See issued June 18, Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins directs all Priests in Lagos to celebrate June 22 Holy Mass for this intention. 

Additionally, he says, Holy Rosary processions are to be realized in church compounds in the evening, led by Marian devotional groups, to invoke the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace.

The Local Ordinary of Lagos Archdiocese emphasizes that the Day of Prayer and Protest is a peaceful expression of outrage and a cry for government accountability.

“The earth is tired of drinking innocent blood,” he says in his June 18 statement. 

The Catholic Church leader goes on to condemn the killings in Yelewata, Benue State, saying, “The conviction of being deliberately targeted is thick in the air. People need to be reassured that they are safe and secure, irrespective of where they live within the borders of our country.”

He joined his voice to that of Pope Leo XIV, who, during his Sunday, June 15 Angelus, condemned the killings and prayed for the victims.

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“We thank our Holy Father… for calling the attention of the world to the Benue massacre… Let us all, with one voice, call on the security agencies and governments… not to look away from the suffering of the people of Benue,” Archbishop Adewale says.

Amid the bloodshed and public frustration, Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Iormem Alia, the Catholic Priest that Bishop William Amove Avenya of Gboko Diocese suspended in May 2022, has rejected growing calls for citizens to arm themselves in self-defense.

Speaking in an interview on AIT News on June 17, Governor Alia acknowledged that the temptation to take up arms might appear logical. 

Governor Alia said, “Each time I speak about this, I get very passionate about it. But I’m cautiously guiding citizens. It is not just advisable for you to say we’ll pick out knives, machetes, and sticks and get out there to fight. That’s not good.”

“Where you have people who decide to just wake up because of sentiments, emotions attached to what is happening to us and within us, I think we will be rendering ourselves more vulnerable. So, I wouldn’t advocate self-defence,” he said.

Instead, he urged citizens to focus on community policing, which he described as the “only way” to address local security threats effectively. 

The Governor emphasized, “I would encourage us to keep calling for community policing. There are conversations around community policing. I’m one of the governors who accepted it. If it is community policing, the full power resides with those who understand the terrain where we are attacked, who know the length and breadth of our borders.”