September killings and abductions test Abuja’s claims that terrorism is being contained
By Mary Kiara
(Lagos)-Nigeria’s most senior Catholic leaders are warning against complacency over terrorism, as a wave of September massacres underscores an expanding crisis across the nation.
The warning raises a difficult question for President Bola Tinubu’s government: What does progress against terrorism mean if civilians continue to die, disappear and flee their homes?
“With heavy hearts and deep sorrow, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria once again decries the unabated trail of blood and terror across our nation which has reached an intolerable crest,” Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna, President of the Bishops’ conference, said in a statement received by TruthNigeria.
The bishops were not simply mourning another massacre, they warned against allowing repeated attacks to become normal.
“Nigerians are still being slaughtered, traumatized, and displaced with impunity.”
The warning comes as the Nigerian government continues to emphasize successful military operations, and spends millions on U.S. public relations firms to persuade Western policymakers that religious violence and insurgencies are under control.
But the opening days of September offered a different measure of the crisis.
September Begins with Another Abduction
On September 1, Fulani Ethnic Militia fighters seized six people from a farming community in Kaduna State, according to material compiled by TruthNigeria. One mother was beaten and abandoned in the forest.
The attack followed a series of killings and abductions across northern and central Nigeria during the final week of August.
In Plateau State, two Christian villagers, Joseph Rugu, and Chayi Demi, were killed after Fulani terrorists ambushed them while they returned from a funeral near Miango in Bassa County.
Days later, Pastor Emmanuel Hills and Pastor Gabriel Joseph Dipak were abducted while traveling back to Bokkos.
Hills was later found dead near the highway, according to witnesses cited in TruthNigeria reporting.
Fulani ethnic militias continue to launch lethal raids on agrarian Christian communities with minimal military interference.
Economic warfare has also accompanied the physical violence, as armed groups systematically destroy agricultural infrastructure to induce starvation and displacement.
“The destruction is a means to weaponize poverty against farmers,” Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, National Publicity Secretary of the Irigwe Youth Movement told TruthNigeria in a statement after militias destroyed dozens of hectares of crops in Plateau State.
A Disconnect Between Diplomatic PR and Ground Reality
While Nigerian diplomats present reports of military progress to officials in Washington, community leaders and clergy describe a starkly different reality on the ground.
“The government seems to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the things that are happening in our country at the moment,” Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza of the Catholic Diocese of Yola told TruthNigeria in an interview.
“The Nigerian government is not sincere in the fight against terrorism.”
Mamza noted that despite years of widespread violence, authorities have consistently failed to expose or prosecute the high-level financiers behind Boko Haram and armed militia networks.
“Until the government can have the moral authority and courage to name the sponsors of Boko Haram, to cut off their resources, and to give the security forces full power, this problem will not come to an end,” Mamza said.
Expanding Persecution and International Scrutiny
Human rights groups and international monitors emphasize that Nigeria remains the global epicenter of faith-based violence.
According to data published in the Open Doors World Watch List, Nigeria accounts for approximately 70 percent of all Christians killed for their faith worldwide, with over 3,400 victims recorded annually.
A formal warning published by United Nations special rapporteurs highlighted mounting reports of extrajudicial killings, forced conversions, and abductions targeting Christian women and girls in northern and central regions.
“The Nigerian government has for far too long been negligent in seriously and directly tackling the violence and its complex underlying factors,” Vicky Hartzler, former Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said during a public briefing.
Despite these international assessments, the presidency maintains that security operations are yielding decisive victories against criminal elements.
“Securing the lives and property of Nigerians remains non-negotiable, and the government will continue to equip the armed forces to tackle terrorism and organized crime,” President Bola Tinubu said in an August 28 official public address.
However, church leaders insist that official pronouncements cannot substitute for the protection of human life and have called for proactive, intelligence-led operations to disrupt terrorist networks before attacks occur.
“Impunity fuels repetition,” Archbishop Ndagoso told TruthNigeria.
“The tears of bereaved families across every geopolitical zone must worry the government enough to stop this carnage.”
Until Nigerians can live, worship, travel and farm without fear of armed attack, the evidence suggests the war against terrorism is far from over.
Mary Kiara reports on Terrorism and Religious-Freedom Policy for TruthNigeria.
