Stop the massacres and mass kidnappings, Nigerian bishops appeal as bandits attack Mosques

Vatican News

An Agenzia Fides report quotes a statement of the Nigerian Catholic Bishop issued by Archbishop Ndagoso upon hearing of the latest atrocities. The statement was issued over the weekend.

Nigerians are not safe

“Whether they are in a mosque, a church, a market or the safety of their own homes, Nigerians continue to be killed, traumatised and displaced with impunity,” said the CBCN President.

The Nigerian Bishops expressed their condolences to all those affected by the violence perpetrated by various armed groups.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families in Benue State and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” they said, expressing particular solidarity with the Muslim community in Borgu. “We stand firmly in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters in Niger State and throughout Nigeria, praying that all 60 abducted worshippers will soon be released safe and unharmed. An attack on any place of worship is an attack on our entire community,” Archbishop Ndagoso said.

Coordinated attacks on Mosques

The incidents referred to by the Bishops are part of a series of attacks carried out in the Local Government Area (LGA) of Borgu, in Niger State, north-central Nigeria, on 21 August during Friday prayers, and in the LGA of Ukum, in Benue State, also in north-central Nigeria.

In Borgu, armed gangs, possibly linked to groups such as Lakurawa or to a rival faction known as Mahmuda/Mamuda, carried out coordinated attacks against communities and mosques in the Dekara district. The targets included several mosques in Dekara, including the Central Mosque, as well as mosques in Kpenya, Sabon-Gida/Gidan-Zana, and nearby villages such as Masaka.

The attackers stormed the mosques during Friday prayers and abducted worshippers, taking many of them into nearby forests around Lake Kainji. Estimates of the number of people abducted vary: some sources speak of more than 60, while others of more than 100. According to some witnesses, the bandits also abducted women and children, going from house to house to seize them.

Stop this carnage in our land

In Ukum, between 16 and 17 August, in the early hours of the morning, armed gangs riding motorcycles attacked several communities in the Mbazun/Mbaterem district, carrying out simultaneous assaults. Forty-seven people were killed, while another 17 were seriously injured.

In the face of these and other acts of violence against Nigerian communities, the Bishops called on government authorities and those responsible for the country’s security agencies “to do everything possible to stop this carnage in our land.”

The CBCN members concluded with a strong appeal “to the bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and their masterminds” to put an end to the bloodshed: “Human life belongs to God alone, and no cause can justify such cruelty. No future can be built on the tears of innocent people.”