Catholic Priests sound alarm: "Christians are being targeted, it's a genocide" .."Enough Is Enough"
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Nov 21, 2025 11:01
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By Johnson Arua
The Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA) of Makurdi Diocese has issued a searing warning over what it describes as a calculated genocide against Christians in Nigeria, throwing its full support behind Bishop Most Rev. Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe who appeared before the US Congress on 20th November 2025 to highlight the crisis.
In a statement on Thursday, Revd. Fr. Joseph Terfa Beba, Chairman of NCDPA, condemned the sustained attacks by armed groups masquerading as herdsmen, accusing successive governments of “minimization, denial, and political expediency” in the face of overwhelming evidence.
“Our people are being killed, our homes invaded, our lands stolen. Entire communities have been wiped out. Silence is no longer an option,” Fr. Beba said. “We stand firmly with Bishop Anagbe, Pope Leo XIV, and Tor Tiv His Royal Majesty Professor James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse, who have spoken boldly on our behalf.”
According to the NCDPA, the violence has left over 20 churches and mission stations destroyed or abandoned, priests shot or kidnapped, and hundreds of Christians, including women, children, and the elderly, killed in their sleep. Thousands have been displaced, forced to live in camps under dire conditions, while farmlands and ancestral communities have been seized by armed invaders operating with impunity.
Fr. Beba called on federal and state authorities to act urgently: “Protect lives, reclaim our communities, and allow displaced families to return home. Show Nigerians that their lives matter.”
The association also appealed to the international community and the global Church to intervene in what it described as a “humanitarian catastrophe.” “We will continue to speak, pray, and advocate until justice is done,” Fr. Beba affirmed.
The NCDPA’s statement marks a rare and forceful public denunciation of the attacks in central Nigeria, underscoring that for Christians in the region, survival has become a daily gamble.
