Priests and nuns in Nigeria are “not for sale”

Dozens of priests and nuns have been kidnapped in Nigeria over the past years, including a bishop at the end of 2020.

Moses Chikwe, of the Diocese of Awerri, was released, but his kidnapping raised waves and called attention to the plight of so many other religious leaders and even regular citizens.

“Kidnappings have been going on for a long time in Nigeria, people thought it would not happen to religious leaders. So, when it does happen, it is big news”, said Ignatius Kaigama, archbishop of Abuja, stressing that while it is a very sad fact that the country’s religious leaders are being kidnapped and killed, there are other Nigerians who are suffering the same fate: “They are what I would call silent victims, and there are many of them,” he said.

“The fact that our security forces are unable to identify these people is disconcerting and suggests that they do not make much effort to ensure security.”

28 Kidnapped priests

4 Murdered priests

Original articles: https://acninternational.org/nigerian-hardships-our-priests-nuns-and-catechists-arenot-for-sale/

Bishop Kaigama believes that there are several motives behind these abductions. There are economic kidnappings perpetrated by criminals who “are only looking for quick money, who hold people hostage and ask for millions in ransom”, but there are also religious fundamentalists who seek territorial expansion, “to conquer those they consider infidels, and Christians are number one on their list”, he said.

“Paying a ransom means putting everyone for sale and in danger, all the priests, nuns and collaborators of the Church who move continuously between the villages, without enjoying any kind of comfort, but always ready to sacrifice themselves for the love of God and His people, would put them in danger because this encourages criminality and invites the kidnappers to do more harm,” Kaigama says.