Posted on Feb 27, 2020

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria on Wednesday said the Federal Government had not shown willingness to end the spate of killings by the Boko Haram insurgents and herdsmen in the country.

The Catholic bishops, who stated this in a statement by their President, Augustine Akubeze, and Secretary, Camillus Umoh, said the failure of the government to arrest the criminals showed its insincerity and lack of commitment to protecting lives and property in the country.

The CBCN issued the statement to mark the Ash Wednesday, which marked the beginning of the 40-day Lenten period.

The body appealed to the international community to come to the aid of the Nigerian government in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency and Fulani terrorists, “who want to graze our country.”

It warned that should the insurgents and the Fulani terrorists succeed, the consequences would be grave not only for the West African sub-region, but also for Africa as a whole. “That the perpetrators of these heinous crimes make public shows of them on social media and Nigerians, do not hear of any arrest or prosecution of the criminals raise grave questions about the ability and willingness of the government to protect the lives of the ordinary Nigerians. To make matters worse, many communities are constantly threatened, harassed and sometimes even sacked by herdsmen, as they seek to take over more territories to graze their cattle forcefully.”