CV NEWS FEED // Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria, has called on the United Kingdom parliament to use its diplomatic power to protect persecuted Christians in Nigeria.
“When we call for help to the police and the army, they do not come,” Bishop Anagbe said, according to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
He later added, “the Christmas massacres, almost customary, took place killing hundreds in Plateau and Benue, with the worst massacre claiming 47 lives.”
Bishop Anagbe spoke to the parliament when visiting the UK as a guest of ACN. He explained that the Nigerian government ignores the militant Fulani herdsmen and other Islamic extremists who drive Christian villagers from their homes. These Christians end up in internal displaced persons’ (IDP) camps, and even there, herdsmen sometimes follow and attack Christians.
He said the Christian Nigerians are currently living under the conditions of “a Church under Islamist extermination.”
“I ask you to condition the diplomatic and economic relations of the UK with Nigeria on the return of the IDPs to their ancestral homes and help for them to rebuild their lives,” Bishop Anagbe said. “I implore this august body to insist on the return and rehabilitation of all IDPs to their ancestral lands, and not to relocate them to other constructed camps elsewhere.”
He added that full justice includes punishing the perpetrators and paying full compensation to victims of religious persecution.
ACN reports that the bishop has also called for the United States to add Nigeria to the list of “Countries of Particular Concern.” As CatholicVote reported, Rep. Chris Smith, R- N.J., has urged Congress to add Nigeria to this list.
