Africa (Commonwealth Union) _ In the worst case of violence in that nation, believed to have taken place in recent months, some 200 people were brutally killed in the town of Yelwata in Benue State. The victims were largely sheltered by a local Catholic mission and killed overnight in what human rights campaigners and clergy have termed a genocidal attack.
Pope Leo XIV reacted in shock, referring to the event as a “terrible massacre,” and invoking Nigeria‘s peace and security in his Sunday Angelus speech. He expressed particular concern for the rural Christian communities in Benue that have become common targets of senseless violence.
Eyewitnesses and advocacy groups describe the armed Fulani militants as Islamist extremists, and blame them for the attack on June 13–14. According to Save the Persecuted Christians, the attackers killed entire families, including infants, toddlers, and the elderly, many of whom were hacked by machetes and burned alive. The massacre comes weeks after Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Makurdi testified before American and British lawmakers about religious persecution in Nigeria. The organization suspects the violence was revenge.
Nigeria’s Catholic bishops and international human rights groups denounced the cruelty, urging the government to act. Archbishop Lucius Ugorji termed it “a barbaric massacre” and “an affront to God.” Amnesty International Nigeria demanded immediate accountability for what it had called “almost daily bloodshed” in Benue.
But even in the face of fear and trauma, Nigeria’s church is growing spectacularly. On June 4, Auxiliary Bishop Ernest Obodo confirmed 983 Catholics, mainly youths, at Holy Ghost Cathedral in Enugu. Clerics credit the rise in confirmations to increased catechesis, deep pastoral activities, and a growing urge for the sacraments.
Diocesan director of communications Father Anthony Aneke described the statistics as “a testament to the fruits of evangelization flourishing in the face of persecution.” Religious leaders point to the Church’s strength as a light of hope in a nation shaken by violence and instability.
Religious conflict in Nigeria continues to burn, with 2 million kidnappings and 600,000 deaths recorded just in the last year alone. But Catholic strength is unbroken: 94% of Nigerian Catholics report attending daily or weekly Mass.
As militants sow fear and blood, the Nigerian Church continues to baptize, confirm, and grow, both a target and a witness to abiding faith.
