Priest in Nigeria Pained by Killing of Last Man at Catholic Outstation

Credit: Fr. George Barde

In one of what Fr. Barde describes as “very frequent day and night attacks happening in Riyom”, Babos had spent the night in the company of other men who guarded the settlement against attackers.

At daybreak, he left the vigilante group and headed home to rest. Unbeknown to Babos, the Fulani attackers who were hiding in a maize plantation waited for him. They shot him, killing him on the spot.

Fr. Barde told ACI Africa that half of the outstations in his parish are now deserted owing to the Fulani attacks targeting Christians.

The almost empty and once vibrant outstations include Bangai, Jol, Wereng, Bachi, Fanga, Lwa, and Rim. Fr. Barde only finds about 15 people in some of these churches that, not very long ago, had over 200 people attending Mass at a given time.

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Credit: Fr. George Barde

In Riyom, Fr. Barde lists four communities that are deserted, where church buildings have collapsed and are overgrown. These include Dajak, Shonong, Ranchol, and Rangai-Bwat.

“The churches don’t exist anymore. I daresay that even in some of these places where some people still go to Church, our churches are on life support. They are dying because it is only elderly people, those who say they would rather die in their ancestral homes than flee, that are going to this church,” he says.

Abandoned churches which were made from mud have fallen and Catechists’ houses remain unoccupied in these deserted places. Pastoral caregivers no longer visit these places as the roads are dangerous, the Priest says.

Fr. Barde who has been serving Riyom as Parish Priest for four years and five months now decries the strategic move by Fulanis to Islamize the entire Plateau state by targeting communities that are lined up on one of Nigeria’s major highways.

“In Riyom local government, which is the worst hit by Fulanis in Nigeria, the attackers have specifically earmarked villages located on the Abuja-Jos road. These include Kwi, Wereng, Jol, Rim, and Binti villages. The Fulanis are relentless in their attacks which happen almost every night and sometimes during the day. What we know is that these attackers want to fully occupy these villages to control this major road and to easily penetrate the interior places,” Fr. Barde says.

Credit: Fr. George Barde

He adds, “The Islamists want to establish their settlement within our ancestral land. That we know. By occupying the edges of Abuja-Jos road, they want to connect Kaduna where they already seem to be in control to Nasarawa state. They want to establish an Islamic state and they are succeeding at that. They want to rule us whether we like it or not.”

Asked what gives him strength to soldier on while other Christians are leaving Riyom, Fr. Barde says,” I believe that my presence here is a source of hope to the remaining Christians.”

“We have stayed behind as a constant link between the international world and the locals. We will never get tired of rebuilding our communities after every destruction,” he says.

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Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.