Catholic Major Seminary in Nigeria Attacked, Three Theology Seminarians Abducted

At the time of the attack, Fr. Okolo further recounts, “10 formators including the Rectors of the Seminary and the Institute, 132 seminarians, 6 non-seminarians, one female non-academic staff and one steward were on ground.”

Following the attack, six seminarians “sustained various degrees of injuries”, the Nigerian Priest adds.

“A dispatch of soldiers of the Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) was on ground to accompany some formators and the injured seminarians to Salem Hospital in Kafanchan," Fr. Okolo says, adding that those injured were treated and discharged after being confirmed to be stable. 

In the October 12 statement, the Chancellor of Kafanchan Diocese asks for prayers for the rapid and secure release of the three Seminarians. He further calls for calm amid the uncertainty surrounding the abducted Major Seminarians. 

"The entire well-wishers of our Institute and Seminary are hereby discouraged from taking the law into their hands," Fr. Okolo says in the statement shared with ACI Africa, and assures, in reference to the abducted Seminarians, that the leadership of the Diocese "would use every legitimate means to ensure their prompt and secure release." 

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Nigeria has been grappling with insecurity since 2009 when the Boko Haram insurgency began targeted attacks with the aim of turning Africa's most populous nation into an Islamic State.

The situation of insecurity has been further complicated by the involvement of the predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen, also referred to as the Fulani Militia, who have been clashing frequently with Christian farmers over grazing land.

The attack on Christ the King Major Seminary is the latest of the attacks that seem to target Church institutions and Clergy in Africa’s most populous nation.

In January 2020, armed men attacked the Good Shepherd Major Seminary within the Archdiocese of Kaduna and abducted four seminarians.

One of the Seminarians, Michael Nnadi, was murdered by the kidnappers reportedly because he could not stop announcing the Christian faith in captivity.