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From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
A Catholic priest in Benue state, Rev Fr Moses Iorapuu, has joined other well-meaning Nigerians to condemn Sunday’s gruesome massacre of innocent worshippers at St Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa, Owo, Ondo state.
Fr. Iorapuu who is the Vicar General Pastoral and Director of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, in a statement made available to newsmen in Makurdi on Monday described the killings as an affront to the church and the people of God.
While condemning the act in totality, the Reverend Father warned that if the federal government failed to act quickly and bring the culprits of the dastardly act to book, it should be ready to be faced with reactions that will be uncontrollable.
The Catholic priest who wondered at the audacity of the perpetrators of the evil act to unleash terror on the people in the house of God warned that unless God intervenes, the country is headed towards a principle of no return.
“The killings, again, bring to fore, the volatility of the situation in the country. We have been crying that there is no safety for anyone and the responsibility of any government is to provide security for lives and property.
“But here the sacred chambers, the hallowed chambers, the holy sanctuary of God’s house is violated in such a flagrant manner where unidentified gunmen will enter a house of worship, in a church, during Mass and massacre hundreds of people.
“It tells us that if God does not intervene and if we do not wake up, we will be heading towards a principle that there would be no return.”
Iorapuu who described the killing as one, too many, regretted that situations, where people were kidnapped and massacred in their homes, on their farms and in the marketplace, have now moved to the church.
He particularly regretted that the choice of the day of Pentecost (when all Christians mark the birth of Christianity) by the attackers to perpetuate their evil act is an affront against the church and the people of God.
“Government should act quickly because if people are pushed this far, the reaction will be uncontrollable and we pray that our people are able to be guided by the love of Christ and the love of neighbour. We pray for our enemies, those who hurt us and even those who kill us.
“Our God is a living God and by the power of the holy spirit, where the apostles on this day, we’re no longer cowards, I pray that we get out of our tepidity and stand for our rights and defend our rights and if the government fails to defend us, we have a responsibility to defend ourselves.
“This is the most clarion call for us to wake up now and ensure that security around parish houses and worship houses are secured and watertight.
“If this is happening in far away Ondo state, that means we are encircled by our own enemies and the devil is right at our door.
“The worrying development where the church is continually attacked leaves one wondering who is behind this and why are churches being attacked and not other worship houses.
“So, I think the government needs to act and act quickly so that we have confidence in our government, in our security agencies, in our security agents and in Nigeria also,” the Catholic priest stated.
