Dr Abraham Mathai Condemns Massacre of 160 Muslims in Nigeria, Calls for Global Action

According to reports, the attack involved the systematic execution of residents, the abduction of 38 women and children, and the burning of homes. Describing the incident as a grave moral failure, Dr. Mathai said the massacre represents an indictment of the global community’s inability to protect vulnerable populations.

“This stands as one of the most gut-wrenching atrocities of our time,” said Dr. Mathai, who is also the former vice-chairman of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission.

He asserted that global leaders must be unequivocally clear that any ideology which promotes extremism, spills innocent blood, and binds and executes fellow human beings can never be considered religious.

“These jihadists killed their own people—fellow Muslims in Muslim villages—because they refused to accept Sharia law, exposing the hollowness of their religious pretenses,” he said, adding that the perpetrators are hiding behind a distorted interpretation of faith.

Dr. Mathai stressed that in a modern, civilized world governed by laws and international norms, such anarchic violence cannot go unpunished. He noted that the systematic destruction of communities and livelihoods appears to be the agenda of fundamentalist Islamic extremism, which demands explanation and condemnation from Islamic clerics and practitioners worldwide.

He further pointed out that militants issued repeated threats through letters and pamphlets over several months, demanding that villagers renounce the Nigerian state and submit to extremist doctrines enforced through fear and violence.

Calling the response of security forces a serious failure, Dr. Mathai urged immediate international intervention. “The world cannot stand idly by while warnings are ignored, traditional leaders alert authorities, and help arrives only after the killings are done,” he said.

He called for coordinated international action, including intelligence-sharing and security support, to dismantle terror networks suspected by Nigerian authorities to be linked to Boko Haram. “These groups operate openly—sending letters, distributing pamphlets, and carrying out massacres through the night. This cannot continue,” he said.

Dr. Mathai urged Amnesty International, which has documented the attacks as reported by the BBC, to mobilize global solidarity alongside the United Nations and its agencies. He demanded that those responsible be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of genocide and mass murder.

“History will judge those who had the power to act but chose silence while innocent lives were lost,” he warned.