The Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA), Makurdi Diocese, has said that the attack and shooting of Revd Fr. Solomon Atongo, the attack on Aondona Village and other communities in Gwer West Local Government Area (LGA), Benue State, are a direct attack on His Lordship Wilfred Anagbe, Bishop Catholic Diocese of Makurdi and the Catholic Church.
NCDPA, in a press statement after its May meeting, said it believes the attacks were coordinated in response to the bishop’s testimony in the US and Europe on the systematic persecution of Christians in Benue and Nigeria.
Fr. Atongo, the priest in charge of St John’s Quasi Parish Jimba, Makurdi Diocese, was attacked on May 24 2025, less than 500 metres from a military checkpoint at Tse Orbiam, without any help or intervention from the military despite several calls for help from locals.
Other attacks were reported at Ahume, Jimba, and Aondoana village, the hometown of Bishop Anagbe.
“These attacks are a direct attack on Bishop Anagbe and the Catholic Church he represents. We believe they were coordinated in response to the bishop’s testimony in the US and Europe on the systematic persecution of Christians in Benue and Nigeria,” the statement said.
The association condemned the attacks as inhumane, barbaric, and a gross violation of the sanctity and dignity of human life.
They, therefore, called on “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare total war against the terrorists, who governor Hyacinth Alia has earlier identified as non-Nigerians, but have besieged Benue and Nigeria, and continue to undermine the country’s integrity.”
