Blood On Our Conscience: Catholic Secretariat Condemns Rising Killings, Demands Urgent Action
Nigeria is slowly becoming a nation that mourns more than it lives. As mass killings and abductions spread across communities, grief is hardening into anger, and patience is wearing thin.
The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) has condemned what it describes as a “renewed cycle of mass violence” sweeping parts of the country, warning that silence and inaction are turning Nigeria into a “field of grief.”
In a strongly worded statement issued on 7 February 2026, and jointly signed by the Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo and the National Director of Social Communications Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, the CSN decried the continued slaughter of innocent civilians and the failure of authorities to halt the bloodshed.
The Church cited recent attacks in Woro, Kwara State, where more than 160 civilians were reportedly killed in a coordinated assault, alongside repeated killings and abductions in Agwara and Tungan Gero in Niger State, the destruction of farming communities in Katsina and Kaduna, and ongoing violence in Borno.
The CSN stressed that these are not isolated incidents but a pattern of massacres that betray citizens’ right to live in peace.
Reminding leaders of their constitutional duty to protect lives, the CSN warned that unchecked killings erode the moral authority of government and deepen public mistrust.
It also invoked Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights treaties, insisting that the right to life must not be treated as optional.
The CSN called on the Federal Government to urgently redeploy security forces to frontline communities, seek safe international assistance where necessary, expose and prosecute sponsors of terror regardless of status, end impunity by punishing perpetrators, and provide relief, psychosocial support and compensation to victims while rebuilding destroyed communities.
The Church urged political, religious and community leaders to work together to halt the violence, and called on Nigerians to reject hatred and stand in solidarity with affected communities, praying that the nation finds healing, justice and peace.
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