Armed Bandits Kidnap Priest In Northern Nigeria, Says Diocese

Nigeria has been in a state of chaos and disarray for the last few months. Only two days ago, bandits attacked a village in the Zamfara state and kidnapped 80 people, killing 11. Now, a Nigerian priest has been kidnapped from his home in the northern state of Kaduna, according to a statement by the local Roman Catholic diocese on Tuesday.

An armed gang of bandits, one of the biggest menaces in the country, was involved in the kidnapping, news agency Reuters reported. These armed gangs are known to make random, sporadic attacks on civilians across the country and engage in mindless killing.

The victim, identified as Reverend Father Abraham Kunat, used to be a parish priest from the Idon Gida village. Father Christian Okewu Emmanuel, the chancellor of Kaduna Catholic diocese, said that Kunat had left his parish duties out of fear of the looming situation, but he still couldn't escape his fate since he was kidnapped from the house he was staying in after he moved to the city.

This is not the first time a priest has been targeted by robbers and militants. In one of the most significant incidents, on March 8 this year, Fr. Joseph Aketeh of St. John Catholic Church in Kaduna was abducted by gunmen from a church after killing a security guard, said reports.

In more recent news, Fr. Igweagu, who was the Parish Priest at St. Joseph's Parish Abata Nsugbe, in the eastern Nigerian state of Anambra, was reportedly kidnapped on Oct. 12, reported Vatican News.

A report shared by the website Aid to The Church in Need says that as many as 18 priests have been abducted by bandits since the beginning of this year, out of which the highest number of kidnappings occurred in the month of July when as many as five instances of kidnappings were found to have taken place.