Hundreds of priests in the Catholic Diocese of Enugu in Nigeria held a public protest on the day after the shooting of a parish priest, Fr Paul Offu. They marched to Government House and to the police headquarters with placards demanding protection from Fulani herdsmen whom they blame for the shooting. Despite last weekend’s call by Bishop Matthew Hasan Kukah of Sokoto for an end to “the continued hate speeches” against the Fulani on social media, the twitter feed of the Diocese of Enugu blamed the death of Fr Offu on “hoodlums suspected to be the notorious and murderous Fulani herdsmen”.

Meanwhile Nigerian Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja criticised the government for the “unjust” banning of a minority Shia group, saying it set a worrying precedent for religious freedom.“Today it’s the Shias, tomorrow it could be us Catholics too,” Cardinal Onaiyekan told Vatican Radio.

The Tablet - News Briefing: Church in the World