A notable civil rights advocacy group – Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) – on Friday, urged the Vatican to make an Irish Catholic priest, Dermot Doran, a saint for showing extraordinary kindness to hundreds of thousands of Biafran children during the civil war in Nigeria.
The HURIWA, through a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the priest, Reverend Father Doran, dedicated his life to salvaging Biafran children during the war by providing food and other aid supplies to them despite the danger to his life.
Doran, who provided aid to thousands of distressed Biafran children during the bloody civil war in Nigeria, died on May 19, 2023, at the age of 88.
He was the arrowhead of the Biafran airlift, which brought 60,000 tons of aid to southeast Nigeria. Doran arrived in Nigeria in 1961, not long after being ordained as a member of the Holy Ghost Fathers, a Roman Catholic congregation also known as the Spiritans.
Onwubiko said: “Fr Dermot Doran’s memory should be preserved, especially for his humanitarian efforts invested in children during the Biafran war.
“HURIWA urges the Vatican and the Holy See to ensure that this saintly priest, who braved it all to feed South-East Children during the 30-month fratricidal civil war in Nigeria, be immediately made a Saint for he exhibited a rich saintly lifestyle by risking his life to feed the hungry not minding his personal safety.”
The congregation had long had a strong presence in Nigeria, especially in the South-East, where the Igbo population is mostly Christian. He fell in love with Nigeria, especially the Igbo culture, with its rich storytelling traditions.