Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Most Rev. Wilfred Anagbe, has urged Christians in Benue to avoid fighting back in retaliation over continued attacks on churches and killings of Christians in the state.
The Bishop who made this call in a message which he sent to all parishes under the Diocese of Makurdi on Sunday urged Christians to remain faithful to the doctrines of their religion.
Reading the message at the Catholic Youth Center, Makurdi was Rev. Father Tavershima Tyagher who recalled the killings of the two priest at Saint Ignatius Parish, Mbalom, in Gwer East Local Government Council of the State.
Describing the killings as an act of sacrilege, the Bishop said the memory of the deceased priests will always remain in the mind of Christians in the area.
He pointed out that one of the murdered priest was in the process of consecrating the Eucharist when the herders struck and killed him in cold blood.
The Bishop said: “They first shot him three times, but sensing that he was not dead, they dragged him outside the church and slaughtered him.
”For Father Felix Tyolaha, he was preparing for the burial of a parishioner when they came and killed him with his catchiest; both deaths were in cold blood. “ As Christians, we are not to take revenge but continue to focus on Christ who was also killed in order to secure salvation for mankind,’’
While urging Christians in the area to avoid reprisal attack and to continue offering prayers for the peace of the state and country as a whole, the Bishop expressed his optimism that the death of the priest will not go unpunished.
The Bishop further announced that the murdered priest and other worshippers would be buried at the Ave Maria prayer pilgrimage ground at Ikpayongo on May 22 as a mark of honor to them.