The Church is alone: Bishop Wilfred Anagbe denunciate genocide of Christians in Nigeria

“This is a jihad. It is not about circumstantial clashes between peoples for the earth or by natural resources. It is a planned genocide,” says the bishop of Makurdi, Mons. Wilfred Anagbe.

The prelate clarifies, in conversation with ACI Press, that the slaughter perpetrated in a refugee camp on the night of June 13 to 14 in which 278 people were not killed is not an isolated attack, but a clear strategy to “end Christians and conquer the territory.”

The terrorists broke into the middle of the night while everyone slept. There were tens of displaced families that were burned alive, stabbed and shot at bullets when they intended to flee.

“Many of the people who lived there had been forced to leave everything more than two or three times. They came looking for refuge, trusting in the presence of military control positions, and still were massacred, even in the vicinity of our churches,” laments the bishop after verifying that violence is constant.

Many of these attacks are attributed to armed militiamen of Ethnicity Fulani, Muslim and nomadic shepherds, but in recent decades have starred in violent offensives.

Some international media have indicated that Fulani shepherds are victims of climate change, forced to move in search of water and pastures for their cattle. However, the local church is clear that it is an ethnic-religious cleaning operation.

“This is a systematic offensive against Christian communities,” denounces the bishop of Makurdi.

“It is clearly a genocide in the state of Benue, which is 99% Christian. It is a war of conquest. When they kill people, no one can return to those lands because they occupy them. Communities are devastated and expelled,” he adds.

According to the needy church, Nigeria concentrates more than 80 % of all incidents related to murder or unjust arrests of priests and religious throughout 2025.

Most of the attacks against Christians in Nigeria, are produced in the so -called “middle belt”, a geographical strip that covers states such as Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba and Kaduna Sur, where the north of Muslim majority and the predominantly Christian south converge.

The jihadist onslaught has, according to the prelate, a clear objective: to implement an Islamic regime throughout the territory, which would make all Africa tremble.

With 237 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country on the continent. Demographic forecasts predict that from here to 2050 it will go from being seventh to the third in the world. It also has the largest oil reserve in sub -Saharan Africa.

To argue, the bishop points to the 1989 Abuja statement, in which radical Islamic groups clearly expressed their intention to turn Nigeria into an Islamic State. “They do not hide it. It is a clear agenda: eliminate Christian and indigenous populations in the country. If it were only clashes, why do they occupy the territory after massacrating its inhabitants? Why do they change the name of the villages?” He details.

“What kind of ruler allows its people to be massacred?”

While thousands of Christian families continue to be displaced and traumatized by these violent attacks, the perception that the Nigerian government has systematically failed to protect its own population.

“It is completely inept. He has committed to politically correct statements but does not face the problem. It is humiliating. What kind of ruler allows its people to be massacred as animals without saying a word?” Mons. Anagbe says.

In addition, the initial government reports claimed that only 100 people had died. However, the data subsequently collected by the Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace (FJDP) of the Diocese of Makurdi estimate in a total of 200 victims of the massacre.

“I have the names of the 278 people who have died. Each of them,” explains Fr. Remigius Ihyula, priest of the Diocese of Makurdi and coordinator of the FJDPC.

In his opinion, the government has tried to “hide and reduce importance to figures.”

Another bleeding elements is the lack of judicial investigations, arrests or convictions after these attacks. In most cases, perpetrators are never publicly identified, and victims families are left without repair or justice.

According to Human Rights Watch (2024), more than 90 % of attacks against Christian communities between 2017 and 2023 were unpunished. For its part, the Open Doors association classifies Nigeria as the most lethal country for Christians, partly by “deliberate institutional negligence.”

“Terrorists are not invisible. They do not fly like ghosts. They are normal people and can be arrested if the government wants. But they don’t,” says Mons. Anagbe. He also explains that security forces have previous information before attacks occur.

“What is the State Security Department doing? What do the soldiers do? The Army and the Police were less than 50 meters from the place where these people were killed, and did not intervene,” he denounces

“The Church is alone”

In this way, the bishop regrets the lack of real support from national and international institutions: “The Church is alone.“ This will not stop with diplomatic statements or complicit silences. It is necessary to act. It is necessary to recognize that this is a religious persecution. And it is necessary to accompany the Christian people of Nigeria before it is too late. ”