YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – Catholic priests in Nigeria have always been a prized target for kidnappers, but the first two months of 2025 have witnessed a dramatic surge in kidnappings – and sometimes the murder of clergy.
Not less than seven Catholic priests have been kidnapped in Africa’s most populous nation since January this year.
The most egregious was the kidnapping and killing of Father Sylvester Okechukwu, a priest from the Diocese of Kafanchan.
The diocesan priest was coincidentally kidnapped and killed on Ash Wednesday.
The Chancellor of the Diocese, Father Jacob Shanet, explained the details of the kidnapping in a statement, saying that the priest was abducted from his residence on the night of March 4, and his dead body was later found in the early hours of March 5.
“It is with deep sorrow and heavy hearts that we announce the tragic death of our beloved priest,” Shanet said in a statement.
“The untimely and brutal loss has left us heartbroken and devastated. Father Sylvester was a dedicated servant of God who worked selflessly in the vineyard of the Lord, spreading the message of peace, love, and hope,” the statement said.
Just a day before his death, Father Philip Ekweli and a major seminarian of Auchi Diocese in Edo State were both kidnapped on March 3.
“Doors and windows in both the rectory and church were pulled down accompanied by gunshots. The local vigilantes engaged the kidnappers in a gun duel,” said Father Peter Egielewa, the director of communications for the diocese.
He said the superior weaponry of the kidnappers made it hard for the vigilantes to repel the attackers, and Ekweli was “unfortunately taken away along with the major seminarian serving in the parish into the surrounding forests.”
Bishop Gabriel Ghiakhomo Dunia of Auchi has said he is saddened by the frequency of kidnappings in his diocese, claiming it “has become a business center for kidnappers.”
Elsewhere, Father Livinus Maurice, parish priest of St. Patrick’s Church in Isokpo in Rivers State, was abducted alongside two others while returning from a hospital visit on February 12.
On February 6, Father Cornelius Manzak Damulak, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Shendam and a student at Veritas University Abuja in Nigeria, was abducted but later managed to escape from captivity.
On February 19, Father Moses Gyang Jah of St. Mary Maijuju Parish, also of the Shendam Diocese, was abducted along with his niece and the Parish Council Chairman, Mr. Nyam Ajiji. Tragically, the layman was reportedly killed, while ah and his niece remain in captivity.
On February 22, Father Matthew David Dutsemi and Father Abraham Saummam, both from the Catholic Diocese of Yola, were also abducted. Their release has not yet been secured.
The wave of kidnappings and killings speak to the worsening state of freedom of worship in the country.
In 2024, 13 priests were kidnapped in Nigeria, all of whom were eventually released.
Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of the Archdiocese of Abuja in Nigeria has strongly criticized the escalating kidnappings of Catholic priests across the West African nation, attributing the crisis to the government’s inability to effectively tackle the surge in abductions.
In comments to Crux, Kaigama remarked that the ongoing killings, kidnappings, and destruction of church properties and facilities in Nigeria are a continuation of long-standing challenges faced by the nation.
“Catholic priests and religious have been targeted because of their active participation in politics, their efforts to strengthen Christianity, their role in educating citizens about their rights and privileges, and the large ransoms obtained from the relatives of these priests when they are kidnapped,’ the archbishop told Crux.
“The attacks are not limited to ordained clergy; those training for the priesthood have also been targeted,” he said.
Kaigama explained that the kidnapping of priests and religious in Nigeria is a resultant effect of poor leadership at all levels – local government, state government and federal government.
“This reflects in the increasing level of poverty, irrespective of religious affiliation,’ he said.
Emeka Umeagbalasi, the Board Chair of the Catholic–inspired NGO, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, notes that the kidnappings and the killings are carried out with the complicity of the Nigerian government and its military.
“The government we have in Nigeria is for radical Islamism,” he told Crux.
“If Nigeria’s security forces had boldly addressed law enforcement operations with impartiality, fairness, and without any form of bias, the challenges Christians are facing today would have become a thing of the past,” Umeagbalasi said.
Nigeria has since 2009 been reeling from a Boko Haram insurgency, but the country’s security woes have been complicated by the growth of other terrorist organizations, including Fulani jihadists and the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP.
