Priests’ Association condemns increase in kidnapping of priests and nuns

There has been a significant increase in the kidnapping of priests and sisters in Nigeria. The most dramatic and recent incident concerns Fr. John Adeyi the Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Otukpo in Nigeria. He was kidnapped on Sunday, 24 April 2016. 

On 22 June, the decaying remains of Fr. John Adeyi, a former student of Rome’s Gregorian University in the late 1990s, were found dumped by unknown persons, in his hometown. Ironically, the abductors of Fr. John murdered him even after collecting 2 million Naira as ransom. He will be put to rest on 15 July.

The new President of the Nigeria Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA), Fr Sylvester Onmoke has condemned the recent wave of kidnapping of Catholic priests and religious as an anti-Christ and an assault on the Church. Fr. Onmoke has said the crime calls for more proactive action on the part of the government and the people to counter this wave of abductions.

The NCDPA President made this observation while speaking to Catholic News Service of Nigeria (CNSNg), in an exclusive interview. This was when he led the association’s new executive members on a courtesy visit to the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Durumi, Abuja, recently.

According to Fr. Onmoke, priests are invaluable in the House of God and the decision of these criminals to turn their focus on the kidnapping of priests is an assault on the Church. He, therefore, called on all members of his association and other priests working in all parts of the country to be more security conscious and be more discreet about their movements and activities.

He has since called on the government and security agents to live up to expectation by protecting the lives and property of the people of the country. 

The team was received by the CSN Secretary General, Fr. Ralph Madu and the Deputy Secretary General, Fr. Zacharia Samjumi, who is also the director of Pastoral Agents department at the Catholic Secretariat.

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source: Catholic News Service of Nigeria