Nigeria’s absence from Pope Leo’s current tour of several African nations has been denounced by Intersociety, the International Society for Civil Rights and Rule of Law.
The development was characterised by the organization as a basic omission.
In a statement provided to 460PLAY, Intersociety bemoaned the removal of “Super Catholic/Christian States: Congo DRC, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya” from the visit.
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Head of Intersociety; Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam, Head of Campaign and Publicity; Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Head of Civil Liberties and Rule of Law; and Engineer Ekene Bede Umeagu, Head of International Freedom of Religion and Worship, signed the statement.
The development, according to the statement, “demands for appointment of four Cardinal-Electors for Uganda and Kenya (two each), two each for Cameroon, Angola, and Tanzania; and three each for Congo DRC and Nigeria to encourage, strengthen, and save Africa’s largest but severely threatened Catholicism and Christianity.”
“Peace of the Christian Graveyard, Jews and other Peaceful Religions and other religious minorities, especially in the hands of global Islamic Jihadists who have consistently vowed to continue to target Christians and Jews until they are converted or hacked to death” is not what the rights group hoped Pope Leo would mean when he preached world peace.
“More concrete reforms are very significantly and urgently needed to strategically and strongly reposition the Mother Church as the common canopy and “General Overseer of the global Christendom,” it emphasised.
“Charity Must Begin at Home Reforms” are among the necessary reforms, such as requiring Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin to resign or sit up, as was the case with the resignation of Archbishop Claudio Dalla Zuanna of Mozambique’s Archdiocese of Beira on April 10, 2026, and Archbishop Pascalis Bruno Sukur, who turned down Pope Leo XIV’s early 2026 appointment as a cardinal in favour of continuing to serve as Bishop of Bogor in Indonesia.
“Exclusion Of Africa’s Five Super Catholic States From Pope’s Maiden Visit: We have noticed a fundamental omission in the Holy Father’s visit to Africa, which only included the nations of Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya—all of which have a combined Catholic population of an estimated 141 million—as well as Ethiopia, the third-largest Christian state in Africa with 77 million people.
Only Angola has a sizable Catholic population—roughly 10 million—among the four nations scheduled for the papal visit, compared to Cameroon’s 9 million and Equatorial Guinea’s 1.4 million.
“With the exception of Cameroon, Catholics and the general Christian population in Angola and Equatorial Guinea face fewer jihadist threats and attacks than the five major Catholic countries of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, as well as allied others like Ethiopia, according to our thorough analysis of the current patterns and trends of genocidal attacks by Islamic jihadists against Christians in Africa.
According to published data, there are just 4,200 Catholics and a serving cardinal in Algeria, which is home to an estimated 100,000 Christians. Algeria is the largest landmass country in Africa, with an area of 2.382 million square kilometres.
The only reason Algeria is included in the papal visit is that the biblical Saint Augustine was born there.
“We have nothing against the four African nations that were chosen, but the Pope’s itinerary should have included the five most vulnerable and attacked African nations.
The Congo DRC, which has an estimated 55 million Catholics and 115 million Christians; Nigeria, which has an estimated 30 million Catholics and 113 million Christians; Tanzania, which has an estimated 19 million Catholics and 31 million Christians; Uganda, which has an estimated 18 million Catholics and 30 million Christians; Kenya, which has an estimated 18 million Catholics and 40 million Christians; and Ethiopia, which is one of the oldest Christian nation in Africa.
In fact, these six African nations ought to have been listed as “First Among Equals” in Pope Leo XIV’s first visit to Africa. This is especially true when the Holy Father’s visit is desperately needed to uplift and strengthen Christian believers in dangerous places like Nigeria, Congo DRC, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, where, if extreme caution is not taken, their teeming Catholic and other Christian populations will not only be wiped out by local Islamic jihadists affiliated with ISIS and ISIL in the next generation will no longer have Christian names associated with Christianity.
The unequal nomination of Catholic cardinals in Africa, particularly in nations with sizable Catholic populations, was another important gap. The lack of “Cardinal-Electors,” or people under 80 who have the ability to vote in papal conclaves and other cardinal decisions, has been a problem for these nations.
“We thus call for the appointment of two new Cardinal-Electors for Nigeria, specifically from the northeast of the country, particularly from Catholic dioceses in Taraba State and Benue State.
According to our recent research, there are courageous and fearless Catholic bishops in the region who have stood their ground against the widespread attacks of Fulani Jihadists and their allies, Boko Haram and Fulani Bandits, which have resulted in the massacre of thousands of Catholics and the destruction of hundreds of churches, particularly since 2015.
In March 2025, Fulani Jihadists targeted Bishop Anagbe, destroyed his town, and slaughtered scores of his relatives for speaking out worldwide in the United States. More than 90,000 Catholics have been forced to flee, with hundreds killed and dozens of church parishes razed or sacked in Wukari Diocese in 2024 till this date of April 2026 alone; likewise, in Makurdi Diocese where hundreds have been killed and dozens of parishes razed or sacked.
“There are 60 Catholic Dioceses in Nigeria, including 59 full-fledged Dioceses and a Suffragan, located in Ibadan, Oyo State, out of which 27 are presently dying and 17 inches away from diocesan emptiness.