Gunmen abduct Catholic priest in Niger state

Sunday Musa, a Catholic priest, has been abducted by suspected armed bandits in Samunaka, a rural community near Babanna in Borgu LGA of Niger state.

According to Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency publication, the incident occurred around 4:00 am on Friday when gunmen attacked the village.

Eyewitnesses cited by the publication said the attackers, estimated to be about 20 in number, arrived Samunaka and began shooting before whisking the cleric away to an unknown location.

The Niger state police command confirmed the abduction, saying it received a distress alert from the officer-in-charge of the Babanna police outstation.

In response, tactical police teams and local vigilantes were immediately mobilised to pursue the attackers.

Makama noted that security patrols have been intensified across vulnerable communities within the Babanna–Borgu axis, and efforts are underway to track the kidnappers and rescue the priest unharmed.

 The abduction of Musa in Niger state adds to a disturbing rise in attacks targeting Catholic clergy across Nigeria.

On March 23, John Ubaechu, the parish priest of Holy Family Catholic Church in Izombe, Oguta LGA of Imo state, was kidnapped while traveling along Ejemekwuru Road to a priests’ retreat.

Earlier that month, on March 1, gunmen abducted Philip Ekeli, a Catholic priest, and Peter Andrew, a seminarian, from St. Peter Catholic Church in Iviukwa, Etsako east LGA of Edo state.

In an even more tragic incident, bandits killed Sylvester Okechukwu, a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Kafanchan, Kaduna state.

According to Jacob Shanet, chancellor of the diocese, Okechukwu was abducted from his residence on the night of March 4 and murdered the following morning.