Bishop Demands Restitution From Herders Over Destroyed Amenities

For destroying churches, schools and hospitals built by the Catholic Church, the bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Most Revd. Wilfred Anagbe, has threatened to drag herders to the Vatican no matter how long it takes.

Bishop Anagbe who disclosed this during the commissioning of the modern laboratory at Bishop Murray Medical Centre, Makurdi, the state capital, lamented that most Catholic churches, schools and hospitals built by the missionaries and indigenous bishops of the diocese, especially at Agagbe in Gwer-West and Udei in Guma local government areas had been destroyed by the herdsmen.

He said, “We are waiting for restitution for all our social amenities that are being destroyed by the herdsmen, they cannot just go like that. All these things were built from our hard-earned money to ease the plight of people, especially women and children in hard-to-reach areas, trekking long distances to access medication or attend schools.”

The bishop commended the Benue State government for partnering with the church in the area of development.

In his speech, Governor Samuel Ortom said from 2016 to 2022 he had spent his personal resources to the tune of N680 million for the treatment of victims of snake bites using Bishop Murray Medical Centre, Rahama and Federal Medical Centre.

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The governor informed that from 2016 to 2022 a total number of 2981 cases of snake bites were recorded involving 1941 male and 1040 female.

According to him, “Of the 2981 cases of snake bites recorded, 2917 persons were treated and discharged while 64 died in the process.’’

 Governor Ortom who commended the Catholic Church for their humanitarian work in health and education for the development of the state, announced the donation of Polymerase Chain Reaction Machine (PCR) which the health coordinator, Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, Revd. Fr. Peter Paleve requested for the testing of Hepatitis.

While disclosing that he started the treatment for victims of snake bites since the year 2000 out of the passion to save lives when he discovered that most victims were farmers who could not afford the treatment, he applauded the hospitals involved especially Bishop Murray for ensuring that those bitten by snakes are not turndown even in the event that he was owing them.

The governor disclosed that he asked the commissioner for health and human services to raise a memo to handover the treatment of snake bites to the state government which was read during the State Executive Council meeting and it was adopted.

 “I want to commend the Bishop of Makurdi Diocese Most Rev. Wilfred Anagbe, for being prudent in the face of scarce resources and I promise to complement what the church is already doing for the development of the state,” he added.

 In a welcome address, the health coordinator of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, Fr. Paleve described the modern laboratory as a milestone to the history of the hospital.