Thousands of Catholics in north-east Nigeria have returned to church in defiance of their fears following more than 15 years of violent insurgencies. Bishop John Bakeni and Bishop Oliver Doeme, of Maiduguri Diocese in Borno State, told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that worshippers were coming back “in their thousands, not hundreds”.
The Whuabazhi Pilgrimage Centre—which ACN helped build—has seen record numbers attend. The bishops highlighted the center’s spiritual and social impact:
“People come back healed… it’s a huge centre of empowerment for young people”.
A Rebirth of Faith in the Birthplace of Boko Haram
Maiduguri is the birthplace of Boko Haram, an Islamist group that has waged a brutal insurgency since 2009, killing an estimated 20,000 people and displacing more than two million. Although jihadists have spread to other areas, many displaced people have chosen to return home.
Bishop Doeme stressed that the people’s faith is unshakable and that current numbers exceed those from before the crisis:
“We have a lot of weddings taking place, the number of children receiving Holy Communion has shot up, the number of children being baptised goes to 1,000. The difference is in thousands, not in the hundreds”.
A Legacy of Persecution and Resilience
From the start of the crisis in 2009, especially through 2014, Christian communities faced organized attacks that led to the displacement of over 90,000 Catholics and the deaths of more than 1,000. Additionally, 279 people were kidnapped, including children, and 100 have yet to return. The violence also left a trail of destruction: over 200 churches, 10 parishes, clinics, and residential properties were destroyed.
Despite the constant danger, bishops and priests never stopped ministering to the people in rural areas:
“The situation has only served to strengthen the faith of our people. The moment the Church faces persecution the people become more alive, their faith becomes more active, this is our experience”.
The Irony of Peace Amid National Insecurity
While the situation in Maiduguri has improved, Bishop Bakeni warned that many other parts of Nigeria remain insecure, with the nation living under a “cloud of fear and anxiety” due to daily killings and abductions. To him, the return of parishioners is a meaningful irony:
“Ordinarily, when people are confronted with violence, the church should be less populated, but what we are seeing is the opposite. As bad as the persecution is, these are the testimonies we have. It’s the testimonies of faith and the faith which is tested”.
Finally, both bishops thanked ACN benefactors for their support, stating that without it, the story of Maiduguri would be very different today.
