The Nigerian Episcopal Conference launched a vehement appeal for peace and for authorities to intervene, following the recent massacres and kidnappings that victimized dozens of people in the Borgu and Ukum regions. In Niger State (Borgu), suspected jihadist militants kidnapped more than 60 worshippers in a mosque, while in Benue State (Ukum), an attack attributed to armed pastoralist groups of the Fulani ethnicity resulted in the killing of 47 citizens and 17 seriously wounded.
The Catholic bishops expressed their "firm solidarity" with the Islamic community, noting that in the case of Borgu, both the aggressors and the victims were Muslims. The statement, signed by Mgr. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, Archbishop of Kaduna and President of the Nigerian episcopate, states that "an attack on any place of worship is an attack on our collective humanity."
The prelates urge the Government to implement "proactive security measures and based on intelligence information" to neutralize criminal hotspots and stop impunity. The document is also addressed directly to those responsible for the attacks — "bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and their sponsors" — demanding repentance and an end to the bloodshed, warning that "human life belongs only to God, and no cause justifies this cruelty."
Nigeria faces a prolonged climate of instability, marked by ransom kidnappings, extremist violence in the north, and conflicts over pastures in the so-called "Middle Belt" between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers. The Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Foundation collaborates with the local Catholic Church to support thousands of internally displaced persons, having recently funded the reconstruction of the village of Adama Dutse, destroyed by armed attacks.
