Nigerian Catholic Church Demands Urgent Action Amid Escalating Violence and Kidnappings

Church Leaders Urge Government to Address Worsening Insecurity

The Catholic Church in northern Nigeria has issued an urgent appeal to the Nigerian government, imploring it to bolster security measures in response to a severe escalation of violence, kidnappings, and killings plaguing the nation. The call comes from various ecclesiastical provinces in the north, the Diocese of Kontagora, and the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), the administrative arm of the Nigerian Catholic Bishops' Conference.

In a statement, the CSN decried the situation as a 'relentless wave of killings and abductions that continue to plague our nation,' labeling it a 'massacre allowed by silence.' Church leaders emphasize that the ongoing brutality cannot be dismissed as mere 'instability' but represents a profound assault on the right of every Nigerian to live in peace.

Recent Atrocities Highlight Crisis

The Church's renewed demands follow a series of devastating attacks across Nigeria's northern and central regions in recent weeks. On February 7, 2026, Father Nathaniel Asuwaye was kidnapped during a gunmen attack on Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Kafanchan Diocese. This incident also saw three parishioners killed and ten others abducted.

Days earlier, on February 3, 2026, more than 160 people were massacred in Woro, Kwara State, in Nigeria's Middle Belt. Reports indicate that most victims were Muslim, killed by jihadist militants for refusing to embrace an extremist version of Islam. Additionally, on January 30, 2026, an attack in the village of Kasuwan-Daji, Niger State, resulted in over 30 deaths, numerous kidnappings, and the desecration of a nearby Catholic compound.

Other incidents cited by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) include the abduction of 25 young girls in Kebbi State, 13 female farmers in Borno State, and 265 students and their teachers in Papiri, Niger State. Bishop Bulus Yohanna of Kontagora, whose diocese experienced the kidnapping of 320 people from a Catholic school in Papiri in November 2025, has also personally appealed for a military base in the region to enhance security.

Demands for Concrete Government Action

The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria has outlined several key demands for the government to address the escalating crisis:

• Intensify efforts in redeploying security forces to the actual frontlines where citizens are under siege.
• Identify, expose, and prosecute the sponsors and enablers of terror, regardless of their political, religious, or social status.
• Arrest and punish every perpetrator of violence, emphasizing that 'impunity is nothing less than a license for further bloodshed.'
• Provide urgent relief, psychosocial care, and compensation to victims and their families, while guarding and rebuilding destroyed communities.

The CBCN has also expressed concern over 'disturbing reports of delayed or withheld security responses,' suggesting possible collusion or a lack of will to act, which has deepened the public's sense of abandonment and despair. Pope Leo XIV has also weighed in on the situation, expressing 'sorrow and concern' over the attacks and calling on authorities to work with determination to ensure the safety and protection of every citizen.