A Nigerian Catholic priest, Fr. Chidi Phillip, has sharply criticized Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia after the governor stated that there is no Christian genocide occurring in the state.
Speaking at a recent public event, Governor Alia insisted that, as a Reverend Father, he would not lie about the security situation in Benue. He acknowledged that the state is facing insecurity, but rejected claims of any religious, ethnic, racial, national, or state-targeted genocide.
He said:
“I am a Reverend Father, and being in government does not change that. I came in as a Reverend Father, I serve with the fear of God and compassion for humanity, and at the end of my tenure, I will return to the Church as a Reverend Father.
In Benue, there is no religious, ethnic, racial, national, or state genocide. We don’t have that. Do we have insecurity? Yes, we do — but it is not genocide.”
In a Facebook post reacting to the governor’s remarks, Fr. Phillip described Alia as a “total disgrace to the Catholic priesthood.”
He argued that instead of speaking up for suffering communities, defending the Church, and standing with the persecuted, Alia has chosen to promote a political narrative that “favours politicians.”
Fr. Phillip wrote:
“Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia is a total disgrace to the Catholic priesthood.
Even though he is no longer in full union with the Church because of his political ambition — choosing political power over priestly vows — the mark of ordination never disappears. Once a priest, always a priest. And with that comes an expectation of truth, courage, and moral clarity, not political gymnastics.
While communities in Benue are being wiped out, churches burnt, farmers killed, women assaulted, and villages taken over, Governor Alia boldly stands before the world to declare: ‘There is no religious genocide in Benue.’
A priest trained to defend the weak now defends power. A man ordained to speak the truth now sounds like someone afraid of losing his political office.
What is more shameful than a shepherd denying the suffering of his own flock?
The Church was right to forbid priests from holding political office. Politics demands compromise; priesthood demands truth. And when a man tries to combine both, truth is always the first victim.
Instead of standing with the persecuted, he aligns himself with those who want the world to believe nothing is happening. Instead of crying out for his people, he fights to protect political alliances. Instead of defending the Church, he defends a narrative useful to politicians.
How does a man who once preached the Gospel become tolerant of injustice simply because power tastes sweet?
I am ashamed — deeply ashamed — of you, my senior brother priest. Not because you became governor, but because you denied the suffering of the very people you vowed before God to serve.
You may silence your voice for politics, but history will not silence your words. Generations will remember the day a Catholic priest told the world that the blood of his people does not matter.
History will not remember you for greatness, but for betrayal. I am praying for you, big bro.
Padre, I know you are trying to secure a second tenure, but for Christ’s sake, speak the truth. Consider the lives of your people. It is better to be remembered as a priest who sacrificed power to defend his people than as one who ignored the bloodshed for political survival.”
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