PRESS CONFERENCE
PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE STATE OF THE NATION AND THE KILLINGS IN BENUE STATE BY FULANI MILITIA.
DELIVERED BY REV AMB. NA ADURE JP. NKST PRESIDENT
DATE: 24TH APRIL, 2025
VENUE: NKST CHURCH HEADQUARTERS, MKAR-GBOKO
Opening Address:
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, esteemed members of the clergy, distinguished guests, fellow Nigerians,
We gather here today with heavy hearts to address a matter of utmost national concern: the deteriorating state of security in our nation, with particular emphasis on the heartbreaking and persistent killings in Benue State, between Easter Friday and today we lost over 100 members of the NKST Church. Just two days ago our pastor and his wife, Rev/Mrs Benjamin Teryima Iorngahem, were gun-down in their official residence. Today, many of our pastors and their families are pushed out of their local congregations and out of the axis, and a lot of our churches are closed down. This press conference is not merely a platform for raising alarms, it is a clarion call to conscience, to leadership both at the National and state levels respectively, and to justice.
The State of the Nation:
Nigeria today is a nation in distress. Insecurity, economic hardship, and social fragmentation have become the unfortunate reality for millions of our citizens. Across the six geopolitical zones, from Benue to Imo, from Sokoto to Rivers, the cries of the people for safety and peace grow louder, yet those cries seem to fall on deaf ears.
In Benue State, what began years ago as isolated conflicts has evolved into a full-blown humanitarian and security crisis. This region, once known for its rich agricultural heritage is now becoming synonymous with mass burials, tears, sound of gunfire and now the center of hunger and poverty.
The Killings in Benue: The Numbers Behind the Tragedy
According to verified reports from local pastors working all over in these affected communities, and other church networks:
Over 300, people have been murdered in just one attack on Easter Friday in Benue State.
Since January of this year alone, more than 600 people have lost their lives in fresh waves of violence, particularly in Guma, Logo, Ukum, Katsina-Ala. Kwande and Otukpo Local Government Areas.
An estimated 1.5 million people of which over 400,000 are members of the NKST Church. These people are displaced from their homes, many of them women and children now living desperately in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and others with their relations with little or no support.
The humanitarian department of the NKST Church has reached out to these camps with a lot of food stuff to the affected persons, covering 34 classes which represent over 204 organized local consistories, to cushion the effect of their suffering.
The Pain of the Church and the Christian Community
The Church in Benue and across Nigeria is in mourning. Over the last years, more than 247 organised NKST Churches have been attacked or forcibly shut down due to insecurity in Benue State. Several Reverend Pastors and members have been kidnapped, tortured, and in some cases, killed in cold blood. The Christian community, which has for generations been the moral compass and pillar of peace in this nation, is being bruised and broken.
The Church leadership expresses its anger and profound disappointment at the failure of humanity. The closure of churches is not only a blow to faith but to the spirit and resilience of the people who rely on their Church communities for support, guidance, and hope.
Calls to Action
We demand the following immediate actions from the Federal Government:
1.Declaration of state of Emergency on Security in Benue State: Mobilize full military and intelligence support to secure the state and root out the perpetrators of violence.
2. Comprehensive Compensation and Resettlement Plan: For all affected families and communities, including the rebuilding of churches, health and school facilities built by the church within the affected communities.
3. Protection of Religious Institutions and Leaders: Deploy adequate security personnel to protect worship centers and clergy across volatile areas.
4. Dialogue and Reconciliation Efforts: Critical stakeholders should be well defined and properly engaged, including traditional leaders, religious bodies, and civil societies, to initiate community security, peace-building and reconciliation programs.
Conclusion:
We cannot, and must not, hide the identity of these Fulani herdsmen and normalize bloodshed. We must not allow impunity to become the culture of our country. The cries from Benue are not isolated; they echo the broader call for justice and peace across the nation. The NKST Church will not be silent. The people will not be silent. And we call on the conscience of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmad Tinubu, Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr.Dr Hyacinth Iormem Alia and every Nigerian, in government and outside it, to rise to this moment. Our land is soaked in the blood of the innocent, and history will judge us by what we choose to do now.
Finally, the NKST Church world-wide is using this occasion to condole with the entire catholic family world-wide over the demise of their leader, His Holiness, Pope Francis. May the Lord console His people.
God bless you all.
Thank you.
