…Demand Government Action
Catholic faithful in Auchi Diocese took to the streets in a peaceful protest on Thursday, decrying the increasing cases of kidnapping and killing of priests, farmers, and market women in Edo State.
The demonstration, which began online on 25 March, included a day of mourning on 26 March and culminated in a candlelight procession at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Auchi, on 27 March.
The event was held in honour of Rev. Fr Christopher Odia, who was kidnapped and murdered in June 2022, and seminarian Andrew Peter, who was abducted on 3 March 2024 and later killed.
During the march, protesters, including priests, seminarians, and lay faithful, carried placards with messages such as “Stop the kidnapping,” “Government, rise up to your responsibilities,” and “Enough of these killings.”
Speaking at the protest, Director of the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Clement Anadevha, called on the government to take urgent action.
“The government must declare a state of emergency on security,” Anadevha said.
The demonstrators also visited the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, where Bishop Gabriel Dunia lamented the alarming state of insecurity.
“They have failed, and the Lord has conquered,” Bishop Dunia said.
“We gather to console our priests, religious, the seminarians, even our hunters who went to this vast forest and were able to find the body [of the Seminarian] which ordinarily would not have been found because this is not a small forest. And it’s not just the forest, it also has terrifying caves,” he noted as he explained the hand of God in everything that happens to Christians in his diocese.
The protesters later moved to the Etsako West Local Government Secretariat, where they presented their grievances. In response, the council chairman, Mr Valentine Okwilagwe, assured them that he would escalate their concerns to the relevant authorities.
The protest comes amid a disturbing trend of clergy abductions across Nigeria.
According to Agenzia Fides, 145 priests and seminarians have been kidnapped since 2015, with 11 killed and four still missing.
Recently, two priests were abducted in Anambra and Imo states, while another priest in Kaduna was kidnapped and later murdered.
In an earlier statement, Bishop Dunia expressed deep concern over the deteriorating security situation in Edo North.
“The once peaceful Edo North of the state which houses the Diocese of Auchi has become a field of the absurd, where kidnappers come in at will and at regular intervals and kidnap people for ransom. It has become a business center for kidnappers,” he said.
Despite the worsening crisis, the bishop remained resolute.
“This is part of our land. We are not afraid; we are not going to walk away from our land. We will stay here. This place will be more secure in times to come. They cannot terrify us into abandoning our land,” he declared.
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