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Thousands of Catholics poured into the streets of Umuahia yesterday to protest against the wanton killings being carried out by Fulani herdsmen in some parts of the country, warning that “enough is enough.”
The Catholic faithful drawn from parishes across Umuahia Diocese rose in solidarity with their counterparts in Makurdi Diocese of Benue State where two Catholic priests, Rev Fr Joseph Gor, Rev Fr Felix Tyolaha and 17 parishioners were on April 24, 2018 brutally murdered inside the church by Fulani herdsmen.
Clad in black attiref the protesting faithful, led by the Catholic Bishop of Umuahia Diocese, Most Rev Lucius Ugorji, evoked an eerie feeling of mass mourning as they marched in a procession through the major roads in the Abia capital singing and praying for quick end to the senseless killings in the land. They carried placards, some of which bore inscriptions: ‘Stop these senseless killings’; ‘God is the giver of life’; ’Government should rise up to its primary responsibility of protecting lives and properties’.
The protest rally commenced at Mater Dei Cathedral and ended at St. Finbarrs Catholic Church along Bende Road with the speeches given by the Bishop Ugorji, representatives of the clergy, religious and church organisations in the diocese, who all denounced the killings and government’s inaction.
Bishop Ugorji said the rally was meant to “vehemently protest” the senseless killings of thousands of people in Nigeria by the Boko Haram sects, Fulani herdsmen terrorists and other unscrupulous groups or individuals.
“We need to stress the sanctity and inviolability of human life. The life of every individual whether Christian or Muslim, whether believer or unbeliever, whether rich or poor, whether powerful or powerless, whether man or woman, whether young or old, whether born or unborn is sacred,” he declared.
Ugorji emphasised the need for all people of good conscience in Nigeria to speak out against the murderous activities of Fulani herdsmen and the apparent inability of the federal government and its security agencies to rein them in.
“Whenever the right to life is violated anywhere in the country, it is threatened everywhere in our nation. With the incessant shedding of blood by the Boko Haram adherents and the Fulani terrorists, the life of every Nigerian is threatened,” the Bishop said.
Plateau CAN Mourns with Benue Counterpart over Killings
The Chairman, Jos North Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev Canon Nenman Gowon, has led Christians in Jos, comprising men and women and dressed in black attire to mourn with their Benue State counterparts over the unfortunate killings in the state.
Gowon said the CAN in Jos mourned with them over the carnage, and to also prayed that Leah Sharibu who is still in captivity in the hands of Boko Haram would be released.
According to him, “We also want to cry out to the government of Nigeria that we in Plateau State, particularly in Jos North, are being attacked by either herdsmen or enemies of the land. Right now as I am talking, one of our villages, which is called Mefarumesta is a no-go-area. We cannot go there and worship again. We have a church there but we cannot go there to worship. We are crying on to the Lord and we are crying on to the world to see the shame and the disgrace that we are in.”
Catholic Faithful Protest Incessant Killings by Herdsmen in Kaduna
Hundreds of Catholic clerics and faithful in Kaduna yesterday joined in the nationwide protest against incessant killings by herdsmen across the country.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) had directed that all its faithful should organise a peaceful rally against the killings by herdsmen in the country.
Dressed mostly in black, the faithful converged at Our Lady of Fatima at Sabon Tasha GRA, Kaduna, and marched to and from the KRPC Junction and back to the church.
They were singing choruses, waving rosaries and displaying banners and placards. Some of the placards read: ‘Stop the killings’, ‘Human life is sacred’, ‘Provide Jobs’, etc.
One side of the dual carriage way was blocked by the police who escorted the protesters during their procession which started at about 9a.m. and ended at about 11a.m.
.....Defy Early Morning Rain in Benin
Catholic faithful of Benin Metropolitan See yesterday defied the early morning rain to join other Catholic faithful across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to protest the wanton killings in the country.
The faithful drawn from the 18 local government areas of the state in their thousands gathered as early as 8a.m. at the St. Paul Catholic Cathedral, Airport Road, Benin City, and Holy Cross Cathedral, Mission Road, also in Benin City, before marching through the major streets with placards of various inscriptions.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the procession, the Catholic Archdioces of Benin, Most Rev. Augustine Obiora Akubeze, said the wanton killings in the country has become unbearable which necessitated the peaceful protest.
Gridlock as Faithful Protest in A’Ibom
Movement of motorists and commuters was yesterday slowed down as Catholic leaders, Priests, women and youths particularly staged a peaceful protest in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
The protest by hundreds of Catholics faithful in the state started in the morning from the Uyo Diocesan headquarters at Brook Street to the state Government House, the Hilltop Mansion situated at the end of Wellington Bassey Way.
As at 3p.m., the protesters were still seen on the streets after being received by the state Governor, Udom Emmanuel protesting the recent murder of two Catholic Priests and 17 parishioners by herdsmen in Benue State.
Placards displayed during the protest carried various inscriptions which some read: ‘No to religious terrorism’; ‘Live and let’s live’; ‘No weapon fashion against Christians shall prosper’; ‘Say no to terrorism in places of worship’, Christian lives matter’; ‘No to ethnic cleansing’; ‘Human life is sacred.’
Fielding questions from newsmen, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Uyo, Most Rev. John Aya, totally berated the collapse of security architecture in the country which, he noted was responsible for the gruesome killings in some part of the country as well as the invasion of the Catholic Church in Benue, where two Ppriests and 17 parishioners were killed by armed herdsmen.
Lagos Catholics Storm Lagos Govt House
No fewer than 5,000 Catholic faithful yesterday stormed the Office of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, protesting massive killings of members and others in Northern Nigeria.
The protesters, who flooded the State House, Alausa from different parts of the state, shut down all roads leading to the office of the governor.
The entrance leading to the state House of Assembly was blocked to prevent the protesters from gaining entrance, while government officials received the protesters at the gate.
The protesters were armed with placards that read: ‘Bring these killers to justice now.’ ‘Enough of this madness, ‘Make Nigeria safe again.’ ‘FGN stop the kidnapping; and ‘Stop this carnage.’
In a letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, which was delivered to Ambode and received on his behalf by the Special Adviser on Civic Engagement, Benjamin Olabinjo, the protesters decried the massive killings across the country, especially in the North-central zone.
Signed by Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Achbishop Alfred Martins, the letter said many Nigerians embraced the change mantra of the Buhari administration, but lamented that three years after, people now live in fear because of killer herdsmen, who actually qualified to be called terrorists.
FG Urged to Be Responsive and Responsible
Hundreds of Catholic parishioners in Abeokuta the Ogun State capital yesterday took to the streets and staged a peaceful protest in compliance with the directives of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, urging them to register their grievances over the wanton killings of two priests and 17 members in Benue State recently by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
Leading the hundreds of the protesters, the Catholic Bishop of Abeokuta Diocese, Rev Olukayode Odetoyinbo, admonished the federal government to be response and responsible, and put an end to the wanton killings of Nigerians.
According to Odetoyinbo, he pointed accusing fingers at some elements whim he accused are the elements behind the killing and gave conditions for peace to reign in the country he said President Muhammadu Buhari must do the needful with the power vested in him and halt the senseless killings.
Halt the Spate of Killings by Herdsmen
Members of the Catholic community in Awka yesterday embarked on a protest march, calling on the federal government to halt the spate of killings by Fulani herdsmen in the country.
The protest which kicked off at Ekwueme Square terminated at the St Patrick Cathedral, where the Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, addressed the protesters.
He expressed displeasure over the prolonged silence of the federal government in the recent killings of two Catholic priests and 17 worshippers in Benue State, alleging that the silence was an indication that the penetrators of the heinous crime acted on instructions.
Ezeokafor, who was represented by the Chancellor of the diocese, Rev Fr. Francis Chidume, regretted the federal government’s inability to defend the lives and property of the citizenry.
He said the protest, which coincided with the burial of the priests and parishioners, was in fulfillment of the directive of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria on the insecurity of lives and property in Nigerians.
Lack of Value for Human Lives Must Stop
Members of the Catholic Church of Nigeria in Bayelsa State yesterday protested in Yenagoa over the incessant killing of Christians by herdsmen and Boko Haram insurgents, saying that the lack of value to human lives in Nigeria must stop.
Particularly, the protesters said they were irked by the recent gruesome murder of two Catholic priests and 17 other members in Benue State by the herdsmen.
Led by the Bishop of the Bomadi Diocese, Archbishop Hyacinth Ogbebor, with full participation by other priests in the diocese, the protesters marched from the Amarata Parish to the gate of the Bayelsa State Government House.
When they got to the Government House in Onopa, they were received by three officials of the Governor Seriake Dickson-led administration, Jonathan Obuebite, Commissioner for Education; Samuel John-Peters, Special Adviser on Religious Matter; and Boma Spero-Jack, Special Adviser on Security Matters.
A letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari through Governor Dickson by the protesters bemoaned “the outright loss and diminishing of the integrity of life in Nigeria through the incessant brutal killing of innocent citizens.”
Niger Police Deny Catholics Permit to Hold Demonstration
The police yesterday denied Catholic priests and other members of the Catholic denomination permit to embark on a peaceful demonstration in Minna, the Niger State capital.
The demonstration was expected to have started from the St Michael’s Catholic Cathedral Bosso road to the city gate along the Minna-Paiko road after a special service.
It was to protest the recent killings of two Catholic priests in Benue State by suspected herdsmen, the continued incarceration of Leah Sharibu one of the girls abducted by Bokoharam insurgents at Dapchi town in Bauchi state and other killings in the country.
Catholic priests and other faithful from the 25 local government areas of the state had assembled at the premises of the church in readiness for the demonstration before it was suddenly put off.
The police were said to have told the leadership of the church that sought the permission for the peaceful demonstration that it could not guarantee their safety during the protest.
As a result, the demonstration took place within the church compound amidst singing, praying and shouting of halleluya.