U.S. condemns threats against Catholic clerics who reported killings of Christians in Nigeria to Congress
The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria has condemned reports of intimidation and threats directed against Catholic Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Revd Fr Remigius Ihyula for giving testimony before the U.S. Congress regarding the killings of Christians in Nigeria.
“The U.S. Mission in Nigeria is disturbed by this report of intimidation and threats against Nigerian religious leaders Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Rev. Fr. Remigius because of their March 12 testimony before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) on the human rights situation in Nigeria’s Middle Belt,” the embassy said in a tweet on Thursday.
In a recent interview with The Catholic Register, Messrs Anagbe and Ihyula alleged threats against them following their appearance before members of the U.S. Congress last month, where they claimed Fulani militants were killing or forcibly displacing Christian farmers in Benue.
The Catholic clerics had told the committee that “the experience of the Nigerian Christians today can be summed up as that of a Church under Islamist extermination”.
“My diocese has lost about 15 parishes between 2018 and 2024,” Mr Anagbe claimed. “Between 2015 and 2025 we have had 140-something priests kidnapped, some killed and some only regain their freedom after ransom has been paid. We’ve had churches destroyed — there have been a lot of attacks even on festive days.”
They further criticised the Nigerian authorities for failing to stop the killings.
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