Pope Leo XIV, in a powerful address during Sunday’s Angelus prayer, denounced the Benue massacre that claimed the lives of over 200 people on Saturday.
Speaking from St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff called for an end to the relentless violence plaguing the nation, particularly targeting rural Christian communities in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
“Around 200 people were brutally killed in Yelwata, in the Guma Local Government Area, on the night of the 13th/14th June, the Pope said in his speech.
He then prayed for ‘security, justice, and peace’ in Benue State and Nigeria at large.
The Pope added: “I pray that security, justice, and peace will prevail in Nigeria, a beloved country so affected by various forms of violence.
“And I pray especially for the rural Christian communities in Benue State, who have been unceasingly the victims of violence.”
This comes as the Benue massacre, attributed to armed herders, has sparked outrage amongst Nigerians who have called on the government, demanding justice.
Amnesty International Nigeria demanded immediate government intervention, slamming the “almost daily bloodshed” in Benue and the failure to protect vulnerable communities.
Also, some angry youths in Makurdi, Benue’s capital, took to the streets, protesting against the attack.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that about 200 people, including Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), five security personnel, women, children, and community members, were killed in a fresh coordinated attack by suspected herdsmen on Yelewata and Daudu communities in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to the reports, the attackers stormed Yelewata in the midnight of Friday, overpowering police and youth defenders before unleashing violence on defenceless IDPs in market stalls and nearby homes.
Several houses and market stalls were set ablaze after being doused with petrol. Many victims, some described as toddlers, were reportedly “slaughtered like animals.”
Watch Pope Leo’s speech below;
