Despite having been about to die during one of the bloodiest massacres against Christians in Nigeria, Fr. Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee has decided to keep his community and also accompany it in the reconstruction of the parish after the attack.
In statements to the Pontifical Foundation Help the needy church (ACN, for its acronym in English), the pastor of the town of Yelewata, in the Nigerian state of Benue, said: “I am here, in Yelewata, and this is where I stay and here I will continue to serve people for the glory of God.”
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According to ACN, the number of deaths continues to increase. So far there have been more than 200 dead, after another 20 bodies were discovered in the forest and within an abandoned building.
The priest explained that just two days after the massacre, about 20 faithful attended the Sunday Mass in the Church of San José, when about 500 normally attends. Those who were missing have died or dispersed through the neighboring cities and towns, he said.
Although he has been ordered priest for less than two years, Fr. Ukuma expressed his decision not to abandon his people, despite experiencing horror: “Many of our now scattered parishioners want to return and rebuild their lives,” he said.
“The experience was terrifying. When we heard the shots outside, all of us who were in the parish house – including children – we threw ourselves to the ground,” said ACN.
During the interview, he also asked to end violence and urged the government to take concrete actions: “The night in which this atrocity was perpetrated, the police did everything they could. For the future, we hope that more security personnel will be provided. The government has assured that it will persecute the authors and we hope they go to the root of the problem.”
For his part, the Chief of the General Staff of the defense of Nigeria, General Christopher Musa, visited the place of the massacre this week. According to ACN, the military indicated that there could have been internal complicity in the attacks.
“We have observed that, due to the way in which some of the fires originated, these were selective and that indicates the presence of infiltrated people who counteract the efforts of the security forces,” the official explained.
The priest also explained that Yelewata is close to the conflicting border with the state of Nasawara. Therefore, he said that families who fled on Friday night are willing to return only if the government guarantees security in the area.
The victims of the attack, explains Fr. Ukuma, were displaced internal ones that were temporarily housed in houses located in the city market square. “Many of them consider Yelewata as their home,” he said.
Currently, several of the survivors take refuge in cities like Dauda, where they need urgent humanitarian aid. Therefore, Fr. Ukuma requested concrete sentences and actions: “May God grant eternal rest to those who lost their lives, comfort to the afflicted and the restoration of peace.”
Diego López Marina
I was born in 1991. I have a degree in Communication Sciences. Since 2015 I work as a digital journalist. I started my career in the newspaper El Comercio in Peru. In 2016, I began as editor in ACI Press and I perform as a web editor since 2018. From 2024, I write the Newsletter for Social Media. I specialize in Catholic news focused on the defense of life and family, international politics, technology, popular culture and the Vatican.