Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi is one of the persons at the Centre of the row between the United States (US) and Nigeria over alleged genocide against Christians in Nigeria.

Anagbe, according to VON News, appeared before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa on February 14, 2024 during which he described what he termed as the “genocidal persecution of Christians” in Benue State and other parts of Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

He was Invited again on March 12, 2025, alongside Reverend Father Remigius Ihyula, to provide details on the alleged humanitarian crisis in Nigeria.

During their testimonies, the clerics alleged “systematic massacres, kidnappings, church burnings, and land seizures” purportedly carried out by suspected jihadists against Christian farming communities.

According to records presented by the Catholic Diocese, over 1,000 Christians had been killed within months and more than 160 churches destroyed, with entire farmlands and villages seized.

Anagbe accused the Nigerian government of what he called a “conspiracy of silence,” claiming that the authorities were turning a blind eye to the violence in pursuit of an “Islamic agenda.”

The agenda, according to him, was to make Nigeria “an Islamic state in West Africa” since Boko Haram began its jihadist campaign in 2009.

Following their testimonies, the Bishop and Father Ihyula reportedly received multiple death threats from suspected extremist sources.

In April 2025, several foreign embassies — including that of the United States — issued warnings that the Bishop could face arrest if he returned to Nigeria, although the Nigerian Foreign Ministry denied involvement and promised investigations.

The fears of retaliation deepened when, between May 24 and 26, 2025, suspected militants attacked Anagbe’s home village of Aondona, and reportedly killed at least 42 people (some reports put the toll at over 70) and displacing hundreds.

Weeks later, between June 1 and 13, 2025, coordinated attacks in Gwer West and Apa LGAs, including Yelwata near Makurdi, allegedly left more than 300 men, women, and children dead, many burned alive.

Catholic Bishops

Subsequently, a statement from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) expressed “deep anguish of soul” at “the utterly barbaric massacre of innocent civilians in Benue State”.

“These cold-blooded attacks on defenceless communities – where countless have been slaughtered, homes destroyed, and families left in anguish – are an affront to God, a stain on our shared humanity, and a terrifying reminder of the utter breakdown of security in our land,” said the statement, signed by the CBCN president Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri.

“There is no justification whatsoever for the continuous bloodletting that has become the daily reality of many in Benue State and across Nigeria. The relentless attacks on innocent and defenceless communities under the watch of civil authorities constitute a grave moral and constitutional failure. This carnage must end.”

Their claims were supported by a study carried out by the Catholic-inspired NGO Intersociety, the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, which indicated that armed groups and their allies occupied at least 950 locations in Nigeria’s largely Christian south-eastern states of Abia, Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi.

“These 950 locations are spread across 800 communities in the region, meaning around 40 per cent of the 1,940 communities is threatened”, the claim added.

CPC

On Friday, October 31, President Donald Trump designated Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ in response to claims of a Christian genocide in the country.

He warned the Nigerian government to act fast to end the “killing of Christians” in the country.

Hours later, Trump said he is not ruling out air strikes or boots on the ground in furtherance of his plan to “completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists killing Christians in Nigeria”.

In a video message on Wednesday, November 5, behind a lectern bearing the seal of his office, Trump condemned the killings attributed to radical Islamist groups and threatened immediate consequences if the Nigerian authorities fail to act decisively.

Trump, on Thursday, November 6, Trump doubled down on his threat of military action in Nigeria, reiterating that the US would halt all aid assistance to Nigeria should the violence continue, adding that “there would be hell to pay”.

He instructed the US Department of War to prepare for possible military action, emphasising that any intervention would be “vicious and sweet”.

Trump described Christianity in Nigeria as facing an “existential threat”.

“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid assistance to Nigeria,” he said.

“We are going to do things to Nigerians that Nigeria is not going to be happy about and may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.

“I am hereby instructing the Department of War to prepare for possible actions. If we attack, it is going to be vicious and sweet just as the terrorist thugs attack our chrished chirstians. The Nigerian government had better move fast before it is too late.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands and thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”

He called on Riley Moore, member of the US House of Representatives; and Tom Cole, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; to urgently investigate the situation and report back immediately.

Trump said the US “cannot stand by” while such atrocities occur, not only in Nigeria but globally, reaffirming America’s readiness to protect Christian populations worldwide.

“I am hereby making Nigeria a country of particular concern. That’s a legal definition. When the Christians or any such group is slaughtered, like it’s happening in Nigeria, 3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide, what horrible numbers! Something has to be done,” he said.

“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter and report back to me.

“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other countries.

“It’s not only Nigeria, it’s all over. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world.” (Sunday Vanguard, excluding headline)