Pope appoints new bishop for Nigeria’s Zaria Diocese

By Sr. Titilayo Aduloju, SSMA

On Thursday, Pope Francis appointed Bishop-elect Habila Tyiakwonaboi Daboh as the new Bishop of Zaria.

Bishop-elect Daboh is a priest of the Archdiocese of Kaduna and the current Rector of the Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna, Nigeria.

Brief biography

He was born on 10 June 1970 in the Zangon Kataf area in the Archdiocese of Kaduna, Nigeria.

He studied at Saint Augustine's Major Seminary in Jos and Saint Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Makurdi before his priestly ordination on 10 July 1999, for the Archdiocese of Kaduna.

Bishop-elect Daboh has served as Parish priest at the Queen of Apostles in Kakuri, Kaduna (1999–2003); Parish vicar at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Kaduna (1999–2003); Chaplain at the Federal Kaduna Polytechnic (2001–2003); Teacher at the Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna (2006-2008); Rector of St. Peter’s Minor Seminary in Katari, Kaduna (2008-2016); and, Dean of the Deanery of Dogon Kurmi (2010-2016).

After his ordination, Bishop-elect Daboh obtained a Licentiate in Church History from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (2003–2006), as well as a Diploma in Educational Sciences at Ahmadu Bello University of Zaria (2009) and a Doctorate in Church History from the University of Jos (2019).

Until his appointment as the Bishop of Zaria, he served as the Rector of the Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna since 2016 and an assistant at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, Juji, Kaduna Archdiocese.