ABUJA/Nigeria: The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria has raised a fresh alarm over what it described as a relentless wave of killings and abductions spreading across the country, lamenting that years of complaints and repeated assurances have failed to halt the bloodshed. In a strongly worded statement, the Catholic body said the continuing violence has plunged communities into grief and fear, leaving citizens exhausted by what it called “empty condolences” that offer no real guarantee of safety.
Signed by the Secretary General, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo, and the National Director of Social Communications, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, the statement decried the scale and frequency of recent attacks, particularly those recorded between late January and February 2026. The Secretariat expressed outrage that more than 160 civilians could reportedly be killed in a single coordinated attack in Woro, Kwara State, while other communities in Niger, Katsina, Kaduna and Borno states continue to face repeated killings, abductions and the destruction of entire farming settlements.
According to the CSN, these incidents should no longer be dismissed as mere instability. Rather, it described them as massacres enabled by silence and a grave betrayal of every citizen’s fundamental right to live in peace. The organisation warned that when people are slaughtered with impunity and communities are forced to live in perpetual fear, the moral foundation of governance itself is eroded.
The Catholic body further cautioned that silence in the face of such atrocities risks being interpreted as complicity. It argued that every unpunished crime and every unfulfilled promise deepens the widening mistrust between citizens and those constitutionally mandated to protect them. Nigeria, the statement said, must not be allowed to normalise mass killings or accept them as routine tragedies.
Recalling that the country is a signatory to key international human rights instruments that uphold the right to life as non-negotiable, the CSN criticised what it described as the state’s failure to treat this right with the seriousness it deserves. The continued loss of innocent lives, it noted, stands in stark contradiction to these obligations.
The Secretariat therefore called on the Federal Government to urgently review its security approach, urging a strategic redeployment of security forces from ceremonial duties to frontline communities under siege, and the willingness to seek assistance wherever it can be safely obtained. It also demanded the identification and prosecution of sponsors and enablers of violence, irrespective of their political, religious or social standing, warning that impunity only fuels further bloodshed.
Beyond security operations, the CSN stressed the need for urgent humanitarian intervention, including relief materials, psychosocial support and compensation for victims and their families, as well as the protection and rebuilding of devastated communities to restore hope and dignity.
Describing the moment as a national crossroads, the Catholic Secretariat said Nigeria must not allow mass graves to define its story. It called on political, religious and community leaders to rise above divisions and work collectively to restore peace, while urging citizens to reject hatred and violence and stand in solidarity with one another.
“As a people of faith, we entrust our nation to God’s mercy,” the statement concluded, praying that the sacrifice of innocent lives would inspire renewed commitment to justice, reconciliation and the protection of human life across Nigeria.
