Nigeria’s Federal Government Has Refused to Help, Catholic Priest on Abductions, Killings

The member of the Clergy of Nigeria’s Makurdi Diocese who celebrated 40 years of Priestly ministry in June 2021 said he finds it baffling that none of the atrocities that had been meted against Christians in Nigeria had been dealt with in courts.

“Of all these Priests who have died, not even one person has been arrested. Of all the Priests who have been kidnapped, not even one person has been arrested. Of all the churches that have been burnt or bombs that exploded, not one person has been arrested, taken to court, judged and convicted,” the Abuja-based Catholic Priest said.

He added, “It therefore appears as though the government is compromised. The present government is compromised.”

Fr. Alumuku said that Churches in Nigeria had put measures in place to protect their people, including installing security checks at church entrances to keep insurgents at bay.

“The church has done what it should do. On Sundays, there are usually stringent security searches for people who try to enter the churches,” he told ACI Africa July 20, adding that packing within the Church premises has also been forbidden, requiring people to pack far away. 

Churches in Nigeria have also enlisted services of civil defense groups who are working to stop people suspected to be terrorists from entering the Church premises.

The defense groups, the Priest said, have so far managed to stop many terrorists. “Some of them brought bombs and wanted to hit the Church but were stopped and the bombs, which were set to explode went off somewhere else.”

“People are also being continually sensitized about the reality of insecurity,” the Director of Communications of Abuja Archdiocese who doubles as the Director of the Catholic Television of Nigeria (CTV), which he founded in 2010, said.

He added, “People are told that if they see someone who they are not so sure of, they need to alert the security personnel.”

On top of all the security arrangements that have been put in place to keep Christians in Nigeria safe, the people trust God to provide them with utmost security, Fr. Alumuku said.

“The Psalmist says that unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain,” he said referencing Psalm 127, and added, “We don't have arms; we don't have ammunition. There is nothing more that we can do than to do this. We see this as a major persecution of the Church.” 

Fr. Alumuku who is also the Parish Priest of St. Louis Catholic Parish of Abuja Archdiocese provided a background on abductions and killings in Nigeria and noted that insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation has not started recently. 

“Insecurity in Nigeria has been growing in the last 10 years,” he said, and added, “The international community only heard about it when militants abducted more than 250 schoolgirls. About 100 of those girls are still unaccounted for.”

Fr. Alumuku said that there is “an Islamization agenda in Nigeria” which, if not tamed, will extend to all other African countries.

“This is an African agenda. It is not just a Nigerian agenda. If it has not reached your country, just know that it is coming. They (Islamists) are only using Nigeria to test the waters. If they can succeed in Nigeria, then it is easy elsewhere. If they can overrun Nigeria and make it an Islamic state, with its huge population… they can succeed in any other African state,” he asserted. 

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The Nigerian Priest explained that the Fulanis who are terrorizing farmers in the country were first brought in from neighboring countries to vote for their tribesman, with the promise that they would be given land to settle. But on being denied the land, they settled in forests from where they attack innocent civilians. 

Fr. Alumuku also addressed Nigeria’s 2023 general elections and expressed confidence that a new administration would turn around the insecurity in the West African nation.

“God is in control. God is our hope. God is in charge of all and He sees the minds of men. He does not allow that things in Nigeria go out of hand,” the Nigerian Priest said during the July 20 interview.

He added, “For us who trust in God, we know that this situation will come to an end, be it through politics or through the leadership; we know that by the end of this administration, the situation will improve dramatically.”