By Abiola Olawale
Pope Leo XIV, in a powerful address during Sunday’s Angelus prayer, denounced the murder of over 200 people in Benue State, Nigeria, labeling it a “terrible massacre.”
Speaking from St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff called for an end to the relentless violence plaguing the nation, particularly targeting rural Christian communities in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area.
“Around 200 people were brutally killed in Yelwata, in the Guma Local Government Area, on the night of the 13th/14th June, the Pope said in his speech.
He then prayed for ‘security, justice, and peace’ in Nigeria, adding that he was thinking in particular of the ‘rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence”.
This comes as the massacre, attributed to armed herders, has sparked outrage.
Amnesty International Nigeria demanded immediate government intervention, slamming the “almost daily bloodshed” in Benue and the failure to protect vulnerable communities.
Also, some angry youths in Makurdi, Benue’s capital, took to the streets, protesting against the attack.
