Bishop's village attacked, 20 slain after recent testimony to Congress on Christian persecution

Fox News

2 days ago

FIRST ON FOX: A Nigerian bishop has been threatened and his home village murderously attacked after he appealed to lawmakers at a March congressional hearing for the killing of Christians to stop.
Bishop Wilfred Anagbe told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview this week that after he went to Washington to testify, four fatal attacks in 10 days by "terrorist Jihadists" had happened in his diocese, the area he is responsible for.
Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian, according to NGO Open Doors International's 2025 World Watch List (WWL). Of the 4,476 Christians killed worldwide in WWL's latest reporting period, 3,100 of those who died – 69% – were in Nigeria.
Open Doors U.K., added in a statement, "Jihadist violence continues to escalate in Nigeria, and Christians are at particular risk from targeted attacks by Islamic militant groups, including Fulani militants, Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province)."
One leader of one of the biggest churches in Africa's most populous nation, using the pseudonym "Pastor Winyadebi" because he's worried about his safety, told Fox News Digital. "It has been attacks upon attacks, religious violence. And we say this because the communities that are attacked are Christian communities."
"What they (Islamist militants) want is to be sure that Islam [takes] over every part of these places. … And so they're doing everything to make sure that Christianity is brought down and Islam is [the] established No. 1. They want to make sure that Sharia law (strict Islamic law) has taken over Nigeria," he said.
Anagbe's Makurdi Diocese in north-central Nigeria is almost exclusively Christian. But the constant and escalating attacks by Islamist Fulani militants led him to testify at a congressional hearing in March.
In April, several foreign embassies in Abuja, Nigeria, warned the bishop of credible high-level official threats: that he would be detained upon arrival in Nigeria from the U.S. and that "something might happen to him."
This led to Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., Anagbe's congressional host and chair of the House Africa Subcommittee, to write in a statement: "I am appalled by reports that Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Father Remigius Ihyula (who testified alongside Bishop Anagbe) are facing threats—allegedly from Nigerian government sources and affiliated organizations—because of the Bishop's testimony before Congress detailing violence in Nigeria's Benue State. They reflect a troubling pattern of retaliation linked to testimony before Congress on religious freedom abuses in Nigeria."
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria on April 10 posted on X calling for the bishop's "right to speak freely without fear of retribution or retaliation," declaring that intimidation and threats had been made "because of their March 12 testimony."
Then the attacks, larger and more frequent than before, started, with four attacks between May 23 and June 1.
Anagbe told Fox News Digital that "what has been happening in my village and diocese is nothing short of terror attacks on innocent villagers in order to seize their lands and occupy."
"On the 23rd [of] May, one of my priests, Father Solomon Atongo, was shot in the leg by these terrorists and almost lost his life. On the 25th of May, my village, Aondona, was attacked for hours, leaving over 20 people dead, scores injured and thousands now displaced and living in makeshift camps," he said.
"On the 1st of June, terror was unleashed on Naka town, with many killed and displaced," Anagbe continued. "This attack was so intense that even those earlier displaced and taking refuge in a nearby school were not spared. All over Nigeria, these terrorists are going about on a jihad and conquering territories and renaming them accordingly."
"I have been speaking about this genocide for some years now, but whereas in the past some others saw my advocacy with the political lens, today almost everyone in Nigeria has seen the truth for what it is, especially after my testimony in the U.S. Congress."
The bishop ended the interview with a plea: "The world has a lot to do. First of all, the world must learn from past mistakes, the Holocaust and most recently the Rwandan genocide. In both cases, the world hid its face in the sand like an ostrich. If the world does not rise up now to put a stop to the atrocities orchestrated in the name of being politically correct, it may wake up one day to casualties that make the Rwandan genocide a child's play. Keeping quiet would be to promote the genocide or ethnic cleansing in Nigeria."
While the Nigerian government did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment, the Catholic Herald reported that the Nigerian Foreign Ministry had contacted the U.S. regarding the bishop's testimony, noting that "any reports of threats or intimidation against religious leaders would be investigated and appropriate actions would be taken."