Reports from Nigeria say as many as 150 people may have been killed after a recent raid on a village in the north-east of the country. The attackers are suspected to be from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which has already killed close to a thousand people since May.

Reports from Nigeria say as many as 150 people may have been killed after a recent raid on a village in the north-east of the country. The attackers are suspected to be from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which has already killed close to a thousand people since May.

Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, has warned warned that despite recent advances by the military, the “problem [Boko Haram] was not over”, and said that more security forces should be stationed in the remote north-east areas where the Islamist group is most active. However, the cardinal also said that people are confident that the “insurgency will be defeated”, with thousands of displaced Nigerians already making their way back to their homes. He spoke to Claire Gilbody Dickerson.

Cardinal Onaiyekan said Boko Haram had caused hatred and divisions among the people, and “reconciling” will be one of the main issues that the government will have to face as soon as the fight is over. In addition to reconciliation, he said the authorities will have to focus on “deradicalizing” people who had turned to Islamist extremism.

The Cardinal added that people in the country were wondering how it was possible that Boko Haram still hadn’t been defeated, since he said “it is only a small group in a small part of Nigeria”, and that Nigerians “expected” the government to defeat them soon.

Vatican Radio