A Catholic priest was one of several people abducted Nov. 17 in the Archdiocese of Kaduna, in southern Nigeria, after a violent attack that also led to the death of another priest’s brother.
The archdiocese said that assailants attacked the community of Kushe Gugdu in the Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, according to an emailed press release from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). The strike began early in the morning.
Father Bobbo Paschal, a priest at the Saint Stephen Parish, was attacked in his home and abducted. The release says that “many other individuals” were also kidnapped. The brother of another priest, Father Anthony Yero, has been reported dead. He is the only known fatality.
Church authorities are asking for all people of goodwill to pray for the safe and rapid release of Fr. Paschal and all others who have been abducted, as well for the repose of the deceased.
ACN, a nonprofit that supports and promotes the Catholic Church in persecuted countries, expressed deep concern over this attack and abduction, which it described as the “latest act of violence targeting Christian communities and clergy in Nigeria.”
ACN “remains in close contact with the local Church as the situation develops,” the release added.
Nigeria is suffering a rising wave of violence, particularly against Christians. According to ACN, Jihadist organizations are targeting Christians, and crime in general is high. Boko Haram and Islamic State-West Africa Province are particularly powerful in the northeast, but violence has spread south as well.
The U.S. redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern Oct. 31 under the International Religious Freedom Act.
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