![]() ![]() “As soon as you have a government that is inept or corrupt, you will end up with situations similar to what you see in Nigeria.”įor various reasons, Catholic priests are targeted for kidnapping. He also explained that these groups use similar strategies employed by ISIS and others, taking advantage of an unstable political climate to gain power and influence. “In a country with Muslim-Christian tensions and where the government is majority Muslim, you can’t get a fair hearing” said Clancy. The Nigerian government’s Muslim majority also presents a problem. Perpetrators have been mostly a combination of Boko Haram militants, ISWAP, and radicalized Muslim members of the Fulani tribe. This equals almost 3,000 killed each year. “In the last 13 years, roughly 45,000 Christians have been killed,” Edward Clancy of the ACN told IRD, painting a grim picture of the current situation. The ACN has also documented that in the Nigerian state of Benue alone, almost seventy Christians have been killed over the past two months. Early in June this year, at least forty Christians were killed by suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) at a Catholic church during Pentecost Mass. OpenDoorsUK has reported that more Christians are martyred in Nigeria than in any other country. ![]() Vitus Borogo was killed while working on his farm.Ĭhristians in Nigeria, especially in Islamic-majority regions in the north of the populous west African nation, suffer brutal acts of persecution. Three of the victims were killed, though most were eventually released. Of those eighteen, five of the kidnappings occurred in the first week of July alone. Shortly thereafter on July 19, Father Cleopoas managed an escape Father Cheitnum was killed.Īccording to data compiled by the Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), eighteen priests have been kidnapped in Nigeria in 2022 so far. Emmanuel Uchechukwu Okolo appealed in a statement shared with the Catholic News Agency as news of the kidnapping was announced. “May Jesus, crucified on the Cross, listen to our prayers and hasten the unconditional release of His priests and all other kidnapped persons,” Diocese of Kafanchan Chancellor Fr. Denatus Cleopas of Christ the King Catholic Church were abducted from the parish rectory at approximately 5:45 p.m. Nigerian Catholics are in prayer after two priests were kidnapped in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State, the latest in a recent escalation of clergy abductions.įr. ![]()
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