Abuja, 01 November, 2024 / 8:36 pm (ACI Africa).
The challenge of security in the West African nation of Nigeria, including abductions, the most recent being that of Fr. Thomas Oyode, is pitiable, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has said.
In an interview with ACI Africa on the sidelines of his courtesy visit to the recently appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Nigeria on October 30, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji weighed in on situation of insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation, and challenged the government to play its “primary” role of securing the people of God in Nigeria.
Reacting to the kidnapping of the Fr. Oyode, the Rector of the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Auchi, who was taken away during evening Prayer and Benediction at the Church institution in Edo State on October 27, Archbishop Ugorji said, “It’s a pity that such is happening. The government appears to be helpless in providing security.”
This seeming failure on the part of the Nigerian government to provide security not only affects citizens but also the overall stability and welfare of the country, he lamented.
“A government that is not able to secure (and) provide safety for its citizens in a way has failed, because it’s part and parcel of what it means to be in government,” the Local Ordinary of Nigeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri said.
