Catholic priests in Makurdi, Benue State, have distanced themselves from Governor Hyacinth Alia’s recent declaration that the insecurity in the state should not be classified as genocide.
Alia, a Catholic priest turned politician, had on Wednesday stated that the security challenges facing Benue should not be described as genocide.
He stated this at a consultative forum on protecting the rights of Internally Displaced Persons and Forcibly Displaced Persons, organised by the National Human Rights Commission in Abuja.
He said, “I am a Reverend Father, so being in governance does not take that away from me. In my state of Benue, we do not have any religious, ethnic, racial, national, or state genocide. We do not have that.”
The Catholic priests, under the aegis of the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association, Makurdi Diocese, on Friday said they stood publicly and firmly with the submission of the Catholic Bishop of Makurdi, Wilfred Anagbe, at the US Congress on Thursday.
Chairman of the association, Revd Fr Joseph Terfa, in a statement made available to journalists, said, “The Nigerian Catholic Priests Association, Makurdi Diocese, stand publicly and firmly with Bishop Most Revd Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, Cmf, who appeared again yesterday, 20th November 2025, before the US Congress during its public hearing on Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, in condemning the continuous attacks, killings, and displacement of Christians and entire communities in our land.”
The priests claimed that for many years, Makurdi Diocese and other parts of Benue had suffered sustained and targeted attacks by armed groups operating under the guise of herdsmen.
“Even though successive governments avoid acknowledging the gravity of this tragedy, or using the word ‘genocide,’ the reality leaves no room for doubt.
“What our people are experiencing bears every mark of genocide: a deliberate, calculated, and targeted attempt to eliminate communities and take over their ancestral lands.
Genocide announces itself not only in the total destruction of bodies, but in the gradual, deliberate, and sustained efforts to erase belief, memory, and belonging.”
Within the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi alone, they claimed over 20 churches and mission stations had been destroyed or abandoned due to repeated attacks.
They added that priests had been shot, some kidnapped, and others killed alongside parishioners while carrying out their pastoral duties.
The priests lamented that many residents can no longer access their farms freely.
“We stand firmly with our Bishop, Most Revd Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, Cmf, Pope Leo XIV, and the Tor Tiv, His Royal Majesty Professor James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse, who have boldly acknowledged our suffering and spoken on our behalf. Today, we reaffirm before the world that we are being calculatively targeted, unprovoked, and our ancestral homes taken over by force.
“As shepherds and leaders in this local Church, and in touch with these realities, we cannot remain silent and pretend that all is well, because ‘to remain silent is to die twice.’ Our people are suffering. We are dying. We can no longer move freely. We cannot farm freely. We cannot gather freely. We cannot worship peacefully in our own nation. This situation is not merely a security challenge. It is a humanitarian tragedy, a moral wound, and a grave injustice.”
The association criticised political leaders for what it described as their silence and denial.
The Catholic priests called on the Federal and State Governments to act “with sincerity, urgency, and decisive commitment” to protect lives and restore occupied communities.
They also appealed to the international community to prevail on the Nigerian Government at all levels and on security agencies, to rise to their constitutional duty to protect lives and property and to end the killings.
“Stop the land grabbing and occupation. Show Nigerians that their lives matter. Reclaim occupied communities and let the IDPs return to their ancestral homes. Provide real security — not promises, not statements, but action,” the priests said.
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