AFRICA/NIGERIA - Another priest kidnapped in Nigeria

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - "We are sure that he is alive, and since the incident, steps have been taken to ensure that Rev. Fr. Nicholas Oboh is released without any harm", said Fr. Osi Odenore, Chancellor of the Diocese of Uromi, in a press conference in which he denounced the kidnapping of Fr. Nicholas Oboh, who works in the diocese of Uromi, in the state of Edo, in southeastern Nigeria. Fr. Odenore said that the priest was kidnapped yesterday, February 14, but did not specify in which area the kidnapping took place. Fr. Odenore concluded his speech by asking for prayers for the rapid release of Fr. Oboh.
Kidnappings for extortion purposes have plagued several areas of Nigeria for some time. In adition to the kidnapping of Fr. Oboh, also several children were kidnapped at the same time in Umelu, in the state of Edo, when bandits attacked the village. After robbing the residents, the bandits fled with the four children. Despite paying a ransom, only one of them has so far been released.
Among the people kidnapped there are priests and men and women religious. The last in order of time are the four seminarians kidnapped from the major Seminary of the Good Shepherd of Kakau, in the State of Kaduna, in north-west Nigeria, by armed men on the night of January 8 (see Fides, 13/1/2020). The youngest of these, Michael Nnadi (18), was killed while the other three were released (see Fides, 3/2/2020).
At his funeral (see Fides, 13/2/2020), His Exc. Mgr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto, addressed harsh words against President Muhammadu Buhari, who had been elected on the promise to restore security in the Country. Mgr. Kukah contested not only the insecurity that reigns in Nigeria, but also the policies that have deepened the ethnic and religious divisions between North and South. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 15/2/2020)

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