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The people of God in Africa’s most populous country are mourning the death of a nearly 62-year-old Catholic Bishop who, having been in the episcopacy for just about seven years, has been described as a gentle “and a holy man through and through.”
A statement released by the Vatican Press Office on Thursday, February 13 revealed that Pope Francis received in audience, in the Apostolic Palace, the President of the Republic of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and that the two discussed, among other subjects, the humanitarian and security issues in the West African country.
Fr. Nicholas Oboh of the Diocese of Uromi has been abducted by gunmen in the state of Edo in the southwest region of the country.
At the burial ceremony of 18-year-old Michael Nnadi, the Nigerian seminarian abducted from the Good Shepherd Major Seminary and murdered last month, the Local Ordinary of his native diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto has decried insecurity situation in the West African country, faulted the country’s President, and expressed the hope that Michael’s death becomes a turning point for Christian persecution in Africa’s most populous nation.
Days after the murder of Nigerian seminarian Michael Nnadi became public, Christians across the globe have paid tribute to the 18-year-old orphan twin, terming him a “martyr” amid concerns over insecurity in Africa’s most populous country. Plans for his burial on Tuesday, February 11 are underway, beginning with Holy Mass at Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna.
Against the backdrop of multiple cases of kidnappings and killings including that of 18-year-old seminarian Michael Nnadi, Catholic Bishops in Nigeria’s Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province (IEP) have expressed their concerns about the safety of citizens in what they have termed a “worsening situation of security of life and property” that seems to demonstrate little or no regard for human life.
Following increased cases of abductions and murder targeting Christians in the West African nation of Nigeria, the most recent case being the killing of the 18-year-old seminarian Michael Nnadi, the retired Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie has faulted claims by government officials that Boko Haram has been defeated and said President Muhammadu Buhari and some members of his administration have a task of defending themselves before God.
A day after the news of the release of two more seminarians who had been abducted January 8 alongside two others, a Nigerian Bishop has, “with a very heavy heart”, announced that the missing seminarian, a native of his diocese, had been murdered.
Days after the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari ordered airstrikes on Boko Haram insurgents and other criminals orchestrating attacks, kidnappings and murders in Africa’s most populous nation, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja has questioned the jihadists’ actions of “killing in the name of God” and called on the Nigerian government to adopt the approach of taking “war to the criminals.”
The Catholic Diocese of Yola in Nigeria has laid the foundation for the building of a residence that will house Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) fleeing from Boko Haram insurgency in Maiduguri, Northern Nigeria.
Following the January 20 killing of the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Michika local government area of the State of Adamawa, the Catholic Bishop of Yola that covers Adamawa State has declared three days of fasting and prayer in honor of the murdered church leader, described by a Catholic priest who knew him personally as “a simple and devout Pastor.”
At a conference bringing together a section of members of Nigeria’s Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace (IDFP), the Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Ayau Kaigama has recalled the challenges of religious intolerance, extremism and violence in his country and called for genuine dialogue between members of different religions as the way to peace in Africa’s most populous nation.
The East African nation of Uganda is the most welcoming and hospitable country in the region for vulnerable refugees and immigrants seeking sanctuary from neighboring countries, members of the Society of Jesus (SJ) in Africa and Madagascar have confirmed at their three-day Conference held in Nairobi that concluded Wednesday, January 22. The conference also revealed that Uganda hosts the greatest number of displaced people including Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees and asylum seekers.
Against the backdrop of child sexual abuse, human trafficking and terrorism, the Major Superiors of different Religious Orders in Nigeria have recommended that child safeguarding policies be developed in all dioceses and Church institutions of the West African country in view of protecting minors and vulnerable adults from abuse.
One of the four Nigerian first-year philosophy seminarians abducted January 8 from the Kaduna-based Good Shepherd Major Seminary was freed Saturday, January 18, having been dumped by the kidnappers along Nigeria’s Kaduna-Abuja highway. He was rescued by some Good Samaritans and he is receiving medication at a Catholic health facility, multiple sources have told ACI Africa.
The brave fight mounted by religious sisters against human traffickers in Nigeria has been a key highlight of the ongoing conference that has brought together religious men and women in the west African country.
The rise of the Catholic Television of Nigeria (CTV) is a story of immense struggle much as it is inspiring in an African country that continues to witness arguably the worst form of religious oppression perpetrated by the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, ACI Africa has been told.
Days after the abduction of four Nigerian Major Seminarians by men “wearing military uniform”, the Catholic Bishops of the West African nation, the most populous in Africa, are counting on the security agencies in their country to make real their assurance of securing the release of the seminarians and called for prayers for the seminarians’ “speedy release”.
A Nigerian Archbishop has termed as “surprising” and “embarrassing” claims that a Catholic priest in the West African country is partisan in the country’s politics, having expressed explicit support for a State Governor.
At a time when Christians in Africa’s most populous nation of Nigeria are expressing concerns about their security following targeted abductions and killings, a Catholic Bishop in the West African country has, on the occasion of inaugurating a Christian Secretariat, cautioned politicians against using their political parties to cause divisions and enmity between followers of Christ.