Plateau Killings: May God Free Nigeria from Horrors, Says Pope

The murder of over 200 lives in rustic communities in Plateau State by bloodthirsty marauders has continued to attract local and international attention with the latest being 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 Argentine pontiff said Sunday in 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.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) December 31, 2023

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 conducted blood-curling simultaneous attacks on communities in the Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi local government areas of the Plateau State on Christmas eve.

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 like the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan-Kukah, had scolded the government and the military over failure to protect the people on the Plateau who continued to suffer recurring aggression from marauders.