Priests of the Catholic Diocese of Wukari in Taraba State have staged a protest over what they described as escalating violence in the southern part of the state, revealing that more than 90,000 people have been displaced and dozens killed in a series of sustained attacks.
The clergy, under the Catholic Diocese of Wukari, organised a solidarity walk to draw attention to what they called a worsening humanitarian crisis affecting communities within the diocese.
Addressing journalists after the protest, the Vicar Pastoral of the diocese, Very Rev. Fr. James Yaropay, said entire communities had been devastated, leaving thousands homeless.
“It has become necessary for us as a diocese to carry out this solidarity walk and speak to the press about the lingering and heartbreaking carnage in Wukari Diocese, particularly in Chanchanji Ward of Takum Local Government Area, and parts of Ussa and Donga Local Government Areas in Southern Taraba since September 2025,” he said.
According to him, more than 80 people have been killed, with several others injured. He added that over 200 communities and churches have been destroyed, displacing more than 90,000 Catholics from their ancestral homes.
The priests alleged that attackers had seized farmlands belonging to affected residents, worsening food shortages and economic hardship in the area. They claimed the assailants often strike in the early hours of the morning, invading communities while residents are asleep, killing victims and setting homes and harvested crops ablaze.
In a statement issued after the protest, the clergy called for urgent government intervention, demanding the immediate deployment of adequate security personnel to affected rural areas.
They also urged authorities to ensure accountability, insisting that those responsible for the attacks be arrested and prosecuted regardless of ethnic, political or religious affiliations.
The priests further highlighted the dire conditions faced by internally displaced persons, calling for urgent humanitarian assistance, including food, bedding, toiletries, medical care and temporary shelter to prevent a broader humanitarian disaster.
Earlier reports by Sahara Reporters indicated that residents of several communities had accused the state government and security agencies of failing to protect them from armed groups following repeated attacks on Tiv Christian settlements in Chanchanji district of Takum Local Government Area.
Community elders and religious leaders alleged that suspected militias had taken control of several villages, forcing survivors to flee while occupying homes, farmlands and destroying churches and other property.
A community elder and official of the Northern Christians Religious Leaders Assembly, Rev. Dr. Micah Philip Dopah, said repeated appeals to authorities had not received any response.
He lamented that killings had continued despite several written pleas to the government, while another elder described the situation as dire, noting that although attacks had persisted for nearly two years, they had intensified significantly in recent weeks.
