Abuja, Nigeria, Nov 1, 2012 / 00:42 am
Following the deadly suicide bombing on a Catholic Church in north Nigeria, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria has said local Catholics are showing "apprehension and consternation" at the apparent government failure to provide security and capture the perpetrators.
"We as pastors have reached a state of near desperation – seeing children, women and men bombed out of existence," Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, Nigeria told Aid to the Church in Need on Oct. 31.
"Attacks continue to be visited on our people with very little sign that the concerned political and security officials are able to arrest the situation."
On Oct. 28 a suicide bomber attacked St. Rita's Catholic Church in Kaduna, killing himself and four others. The attack wounded 134, including the parish priest. Of the wounded parishioners, 75 suffered critical injuries.