Armed Fulani herdsmen have struck St. Paul’s Parish, Aye-Twar (Agu Centre), in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, leaving destruction in their wake.
A local resident confirmed the incident, urging security forces and authorities to act swiftly to safeguard lives and property.
The Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests’ Association (NCDPA) of the Katsina-Ala Diocese denounced the assault, calling it a “genocidal attack” on both the Church and the wider community.
In a statement signed by its chairman, Rev. Fr. Samuel Fila, the group revealed that the attackers completely halted parish activities, razed the rectory, wrecked the parish secretariat, set pastoral vehicles ablaze, and destroyed household belongings along with other valuables.
According to the association, the violence is the latest in a chain of persistent attacks on Aye-Twar, which had already forced the parish priest to leave, keeping only limited pastoral work running.
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All 26 outstations, it said, have now been seized by the armed group, prompting residents to flee the entire Agu Centre community out of fear of further bloodshed.
“This is no longer the narrative of farmer-herder conflicts,” the priests said.
“It is a premeditated, well-coordinated effort aimed at genocidal cleansing, territorial domination, and occupation of lands that rightfully belong to us,” he added.