The massacre of over 200 people in rural communities of Plateau State by bloodthirsty marauders has continued to attract local and international attention, the latest coming from Pope Francis.
Let us pray together for the victims of the severe violence in Nigeria’s Plateau State. May God free Nigeria from these horrors!” the pontiff prayed on Sunday through a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Let us #PrayTogether for the victims of the severe violence in Nigeria’s Plateau State. May God free Nigeria from these horrors! Let us also pray for those who lost their lives in the explosion of a tanker truck in Liberia.
The octogenarian also prayed for “people who suffer because of war: the martyred Ukrainian people, the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, the Sudanese people, the martyred Rohingya, and many others. May those with a stake in these conflicts listen to the voice of their conscience”.
Dark-hearted assailants, on Christmas Eve, conducted blood-curling simultaneous attacks on communities in the Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi local government areas of Plateau State.
The attacks have so far claimed over 200 lives with hundreds of houses and farmlands burnt. That the assailants were not repelled by security agents irked many Nigerians.
As usual, the government and the military have condemned the attack and made a few promises after well-publicised trips to the State but sturdy voices in Northern Nigeria such as the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan-Kukah, has scolded the government and the military over failure to protect the people on the Plateau, who continued to suffer recurring aggression from marauders.