US Embassy Cautions As Benue Catholic Priests Say “There Is Plan To Arrest Bishop Anagbe”

By Adesina Soyooye

The United States Embassy in Nigeria has expressed concern over  an alleged intimidation and harassment of a Catholic Bishop and a Rev. Fr. in Nigeria.

Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Rev. Fr. Remigius both of the  Markurdi, Benue State Catholic Church Diocese, had appeared before the United States’ House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 12 where they gave testimony on alleged Human Rights abuses in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria.

However, since that testimony,  Catholic Priests in Benue State allege that there is a plan to arrest Bishop Anagbe. There are reports of the harassment and intimidation of both the Bishop and the Rev. Fr. by, allegedly, Nigerian Government which had, earlier denounced the testimony given before the  U.S. Foreign Affairs Committee as not true.

However, reacting to the situation, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, in a statement expressed worry. It said:

“The US Embassy in Nigeria is disturbed by this report of intimidation against Nigerian religious leaders, Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Rev. Fr. Remigius because of their March 12 testimony before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) on the Human Rights Situation in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

“Freedom of expression is an essential human right, and central to the function of democracy in Nigeria and the United States.

“No one should be subjected to threats for exercising that right.

“We call on the actors to respect Bishop Anagbe’s and Father Remigius’s right to speak freely without fear of retribution or retaliation.”

But in Benue, the mere thought that the Bishop could be arrested has raised tension to high heavens with Catholic Priests in the State, raising an alarm. They allege of a

plan by the Federal Government to arrest the Catholic Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Anagbe. They insist it is for no other reason than  Bishop Anagbe’s testimony on March 12 before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC).

The Bishop had spoken about  the heart-wrenching human rights situation and alleged religious persecution in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.

That appearance, the Catholic Priests insist, has attracted “undue attention and backlash from certain quarters within the country, raising fears of Government-led reprisals.”

The Catholic Priests urged the Nigerian government “to respect the Bishop’s right to freedom of speech and warned against any attempt to silence religious voices critical of the current administration’s handling of insecurity in the region.”

There have been series of brazing mass killings in the region, especially, in Taraba, and more especially in Benue and Plateau States. In the past couple of weeks, over 150 innocent Nigerians  have been mowed down, allegedly, by rogue Fulani Herdsmen.